Freelancers often wonder how much they should charge. It’s a thorny dilemma: Quote too high a price, and the potential client may decide to hire someone else. Go with a lower number, and you may end up earning less than you could have.
That’s why you’ll see freelancer forums and discussion boards peppered with questions about how much the poster should quote for a potential gig.
But they’re going about it all wrong. While, yes, it helps to know the general price range for certain types of work, the reality is that the range can be quite wide.
For instance, writers for content mills may earn as little as $15 a post, writers for esteemed magazines could earn $20,000 for a lengthy story, and some authors can receive millions for a book advance. Even for articles of the same length — say, 1,000 words — some outlets pay as little as $100 and others pay as much as $2,000 or more.
Dispatches From The Front 