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Topic: Negotiating freelance copyediting rates?
| Author | Message |
| everbax | Posted – 12/12/2007 1:15:56 PM | show profile | email poster I am shifting into freelance copyediting after a long time working in full-time staff positions. A large publisher wants to add me to their roster. They say they expect 6-8 pp/hr and their "standard rate" is $17/hr. and they pay 3-4 months after the manuscript is finished. 1. This rate seems pretty darn low to me. (I have six years of CE exp.) Is this normal for a large humanities publisher? 2. Is it typical to counter with a different rate? Or at least to specify that rush jobs would be x amount, difficult text would be renegotiated, an increase should be considered in x amt. of time, etc.? 3. Part of me wants to say, sorry, I'd love to work for you, but my rate is x; however, I really need to start making some money and getting some clients. ($17/hr is still better than retail...) Is it dangerous for some reason to set a precedent of accepting low rates, or should I just keep looking for better paying work and then move on to that when it comes along? |
| rhino writer | Posted – 12/13/2007 5:10:52 PM | show profile Yeah, I think $17/hour sux, but it seems to be the going rate for a lot of trade and university/academic presses. (Be glad you're not a proofreader.) If you can work faster than 6-8 pages/hr, you can make a better hourly rate. I haven't seen anything over $25/hr, more like $22--23, from big publishers. Wait -- I just reread -- they pay 3-4 months after the ms is finished???? RUN AWAY! That's insane. I get paid within about a month of invoicing, regardless of when I invoice (i.e., send it in with the finished project, get paid 4 weeks later). That means they have cash flow problems. I'd steer clear of that particular company. In general, you can try countering with a different rate; I don't know how well you'd do. As far as a "difficult text" rate, they'll just write you off as a PITA and probably not give you much work. Saying "Sorry, I'd love to work for you but my rate is X" sounds good. If you need the cash, take the rate (but not with them, not if they won't pay you for 4 months) and start specializing in something more lucrative. Good luck! |
| pob | Posted – 12/13/2007 8:50:25 PM | show profile Definitely ask for at least a little more than what they're offering. Whenever a rate is low, this is what I recommend (especially when you are experienced). Clearly a company like this one isn't going to offer you more out of the goodness of their heart. So ask. Normal or not, its our collective responsibility to help push the rates higher since we don't have a union or HR policies supporting our work as freelancers. I'd approach it by saying something along of the lines of, "This is low for me. I would normally charge $25 but I'm willing to go to $19 to make this work. Let me know if that's a problem." Something like that. Let them know you're making them a deal, even though you're asking for more than what they're offering. On the flip side, I've also used the tack of just using the $19 figure (I'm just making up these numbers based on posts in this thread -- but whatever you decide) and then, if they balk at the $19 figure, telling them you would normally ask for $25 but you thought about how much you would be willing to cut to make a deal amenable to you both. Also, while I agree if you work faster you can make the numbers work better, but you shouldn't have to consider that right off the bat. That ought to be a cushion against other assignments and clients that wind up taking more of your time than you expect. Good luck. |
| harlemwriter | Posted – 12/18/2007 6:09:40 PM | show profile I'd stay away from it. No pay until 3-4 months after the ms is finished? They must have some cash flow problems or they just enjoy torturing freelancers. I've had clients who took a while to pay, but none who admitted up front that they would do that. And honestly, 3 months is way too long. 4-8 weeks is a typical range in my experience. But I know it's hard to turn down jobs when you are trying to get clients. If you really don't want to pass it up, maybe you could see if you can invoice twice--first when the project is half done & then on completion. Overall, though, that time frame is unreasonable in my opinion, esp since the pay rate is not all that high. I agree with others that you should ask for more $. You never know until you ask. |
