Eleanor Whitfield
Confidence Comes From Arithmetic, Not Attitude
Most freelance writers do not undercharge because they lack nerve. They undercharge because they quote before they have a real number in their head. When someone asks "what would you charge for this?", the answer should come from a calculation you have already done, not a hopeful guess made under pressure.
Quoting well is a craft in itself. It sits on three foundations: knowing how long your work actually takes, defining exactly what you are selling, and presenting the fee as a professional fact rather than an apology. Get those right and the awkwardness largely disappears.
Track Three Projects Before You Quote Again
You cannot price time you have never measured. For your next three projects, log everything in 15-minute blocks: reading the brief, research, interviews, transcription, drafting, revising, emails, chasing feedback, invoicing. Use a spreadsheet or a timer, and be honest about the interruptions.
Almost every writer who does this discovers the same thing. The writing is the smallest part of the job.
- A 1,200-word blog post that felt like three hours is usually closer to six once research and two revision rounds are included.
- Admin, client calls and project management often swallow 25 to 40 per cent of billable time.
- Projects you have done before are consistently faster, which is why repeat work can be priced more keenly without it being a favour.
Once you have an average hours-per-project figure, you have the raw material for every quote you will write this year.
Scope Is Where the Price Lives
Two projects with the same word count can be wildly different jobs. Before naming a fee, clarify the following with the client, ideally in writing before you quote.
- Research load: a personal essay drawn from experience is not the same as a technical explainer requiring source interviews and fact-checking.
- Revisions: state the number of rounds included, usually two. Extra rounds are charged.
- Source material: will they supply transcripts, data and brand guidelines, or are you assembling them?
- Turnaround: a rushed deadline carries a premium, because it pushes other work aside.
- Rights and byline: ghostwriting, full copyright transfer and commercial use all command more than a credited article.
- Payment terms: 14 or 30 days, plus a late fee. A deposit for anything over a few hundred pounds.
Write these into a short scope paragraph at the top of every quote. It protects you more effectively than any contract clause, because it removes ambiguity before it becomes an argument.
Build Your Rate From the Bottom Up
Work backwards from what you need to live on, then let the arithmetic set your floor. Say you want £40,000 a year before tax. Subtract your business costs: software, insurance, equipment, a desk if you rent one. Subtract realistically non-billable time. Most freelancers can bill 100 to 120 full days a year once holidays, illness, marketing and admin are accounted for.
£40,000 divided by 110 billable days gives a day rate of roughly £364. Round up to £400. That rounded figure funds the quiet weeks. Your project fee is then simple: estimated days multiplied by your day rate, plus an uplift for complexity, urgency or heavy research.
It is also worth setting a minimum fee, a figure below which a project is not worth the invoicing, the onboarding or the headspace. Many writers find this single decision improves both their income and their mood.
Present the Quote Like a Professional
Never send a bare number. Send a short proposal: a line showing you understood the brief, a clear list of deliverables, a timeline, the fee, and the terms. Then give one price for the described scope, with optional extras priced separately. That structure turns a negotiation about your worth into a conversation about the work.
- Use plain language: "The fee for this project is £1,200, including two revision rounds and delivery by 14 March."
- Do not write "I hope that's okay" or "let me know if that seems fair". It invites a counter-offer and signals doubt.
- Offer staged payments on longer projects: 40 per cent upfront, the balance on delivery.
- Send it the same day you promised. Reliability is part of what the client is buying.
Holding Your Price When They Push Back
When a client says the number is too high, ask which part concerns them: the scope, the timeline or the budget. Then reduce scope, never rate. Half the deliverables, fewer revision rounds, a later deadline. The rate stays intact, which matters because a discount given once becomes the price forever.
Review your rates annually and tell regular clients in advance, politely and in writing. Finally, watch your conversion rate. If you win nearly every quote, your prices are too low. Winning around half of your proposals means your figures are sitting about right, and your confidence is earning its keep.
