How much to charge for an article

Pricing is the first business skill a writer needs, and the one nobody teaches.

Three ways to price. Per word is the industry shorthand; per hour suits messy, open-ended work; a flat fee for the whole piece is usually the most profitable.

Know your floor. Work out the least you can accept per hour without losing money - your target income, plus expenses, plus tax, divided by the hours you can actually bill.

The per-word trap. Per-word rates quietly punish you for getting faster and better. A 500-words-per-hour writer at 10 cents a word earns 50 an hour; at the same speed, 25 cents earns 125.

The flat-fee advantage. Quote the piece, not the word count: research, drafts and revisions included. Your speed becomes profit instead of a pay cut.

Say the number. Practice one sentence: “For a piece like that, my fee is X.” No apology, no range unless they ask.

This is the short version. The full guide: how much to charge for an article goes further: rates, where to look, and what to do after the first yes.