You might have gotten into writing because you hate math - sure was a plus for me! But you're never really safe from math, no matter what you do. You can run, but you can't hide.

There's math in them there (pricing) hills!
If there's one thing worse than math, it's math done backwards. But that's just what you'll need to do to get your rates into good shape.

To motivate you to do the math, think about this. If you overcharge, you'll miss a lot of jobs. If you undercharge, you'll hate life! So, it's important.

The first step is determining your hourly rate. Now, if you've been working in an office for a little while, but not really gotten into a high-paying job, you're probably earning anywhere from $15-$40 per hour. (Of course, it's packaged as a salary, but with a little number crunching, you can figure out your hourly rate.) If you've been in retail or hospitality, the numbers might be a little lower. So, you might be shocked (and even a little giggly) when you see writers quoting rates of $50 - $200 per hour. Get over it!

Take a look at other professionals to get the idea. If you think about attorneys, you'd probably assume the $500/hour guy is better than the $100/hour guy. I know I would - whether it's true or not! So, keep that in mind.

You may have to grow into feeling like you're worth $50 an hour. And that's okay - but do it anyway until you feel worthy.

For writers, words come easy. We don't tend to place a lot of value on things that come easy - we figure anyone could do it, since it's easy. You've got to realize that if you can put words together, you're the exception - not the rule. You have a talent - and that's valuable.

Now, here's an important thing about pricing.
You will make mistakes. And sometimes you'll take a bath. But you'll get better at it if you persevere.

You need a timer. Keep track of how long it takes you to do things. How many minutes to write an article? How long to do research? How long on the phone with clients? How fast do you write 500 words? 1000 words? How long to proofread?

Warning! Here comes the backwards math part!
Let's take an example. If it takes you 15 minutes to write a 500 word article, and your hourly rate is $60, you need to charge $15 per article to get your hourly rate. So when you see those article projects listed on job boards, and the employer wants them for $5 each - run! You won't make it up in volume!

Now, what if a client wants a quote for a 100 page ebook? A general rule is that a page is roughly 500 words (I've seen other writers say it's about 300-350 words, but I go with 500). So, essentially, you'd be looking at 100 pages x $15 = $1500. Right?

Nope! There's a big difference between writing 100 one page articles and one 100 page ebook. There's continuity, there's making sure it's not redundant, there's more research, more planning, more EVERYTHING! I did my first ebook, 100 pages, for $500. Torture! And a great way to learn about pricing!

So, work with what you can figure out easily, and go from there. Don't be afraid of making mistakes - just learn from them. There's no scarcity of projects. If you blow your pricing by going too high, you'll have another chance on another project. If you blow it by pricing too low, you'll work like a dog for a while and learn a great lesson for the next time.

Next time, we'll take a look at how we can learn from the truly analytical among us. I'll tell you about a great tool for making your pricing a snap!