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Freelance writing rate structures are often debated among freelance writers of various kinds. The three most common types of freelance writing fees are hourly fees, per-project rates, and per-word freelance writing fees. How can you decide which type of freelance rate structure is right for you?

Freelance Writing Rate Structures

• Hourly Fees - With hourly freelance writing fees, you simply bill out your time based on how long a project took to complete.
• Per-Word Fees - With per-word freelance writing rates, you charge a certain amount of money per word written (in many cases, per word published, so never try to add “filler” text to milk a project for more money).
• Per-Project Fees - With per-project freelance writing fees, you have a set rate per type of writing you do. For example, if you’re a Web copywriter, you may have a set fee per page. If you’re a resume writer, you may have a set fee per resume.

The Key to Choosing a Freelance Writing Fee Structure

When deciding on a rate structure, it doesn’t matter what other writers are doing, or what they think of your options. The most important thing to consider is the type of writing rate structure your target market will find most appealing.

As in any other type of business, think about your buyers. Will hourly rates scare them off? What about per-word rates (do you write for an audience with traditionally large pieces, or for a market that might be overly concerned with people adding fluff to up the word count)?

Is there already a standard rate structure in the type of freelance writing you’re pursuing? For example, many larger magazines pay a set per-word rate. Another example would be press releases. Most press release writers charge on a per-release basis. You rarely see them billed out per word.

Setting Your Rates Regardless of Fee Structures

No matter what freelance writing rate structure you ultimately decide on, it’s a good idea to come up with a goal average hourly rate (to do that, make sure you understand the difference between working hours and billable hours when setting freelance writing rates).

After you have an hourly fee average in mind, you can either go with that directly or use it to determine your per-project or per-word rates (by estimating how long certain projects take you to complete, or how many words on average you can writer per hour, including research and editing time).

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Jennifer Mattern is a full-time freelance business writer and Web content writer. She runs the All Freelance Writing blog, and is the author of several e-books including the Web Writer’s Guide on launching a successful freelance Web writing career.

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