Online ghostwriting jobs – how to ask for payment upfront
67The big question
Since becoming a full time writer – thanks to the number of online ghostwriting jobs that are out there today – I have found that I get asked one question in particular quite often.
Here it is: “How do I make sure I get paid as an online writer?”
Good question! Getting paid is essential if you want to make a success of a career as a ghostwriter, and you should never feel ashamed or embarrassed to discuss payment for your services. You get to set your rates but you must also make sure your clients pay them. Don’t forget this is a business and you must be businesslike and ensure you get a steady flow of cash coming in.
Asking for money up front
Some writers feel nervous about this, but in my experience it has a two fold benefit that you will love.
- You can easily find out whether your client is serious about hiring you. If you mention an advance payment and never hear from them again, you have just got rid of what could have been a big problem.
- By asking for an advance payment you can be sure of at least getting a percentage of what you are owed for the job.
Here’s a good strategy to ensure you get paid for all the online ghostwriting jobs you take on
When you set your rates for online ghostwriting jobs, bear in mind that you will be asking for a 50% upfront payment from each and every client you take on. Not just for the first time you work with them, but every time you work with them.
Okay, now, let’s say I want to make sure I get $5 per 100 words (just as an example) for every article or blog post I write. Now if I charge $10 per 100 words as a flat rate, I will be asking for $5 per 100 words as an advance payment.
Obviously you need to know how many words (roughly) you will be writing for each job. Sometimes this is easy – you might be asked to ghost write ten articles of 400 words each. At other times just work it out roughly and halve it. Provided you keep a note you should easily be able to invoice for the balance at the end.
So by setting an advance payment I am happy with, I know that if the worst comes to the worst and the client doesn’t pay the balance, I have covered the minimum for that job.
Will people really pay an advance for an online ghostwriting job though?
Yes they will – if they are really serious about hiring you they will recognise that you won’t risk working for nothing. So don’t put yourself down, put yourself in a position where your livelihood is secure. Grab some online ghostwriting jobs from people who will be thrilled to use you as a professional writer offering a professional service.
Go to it!
Have you ever had any problems with non-payment of writing fees?Loading...
Thanks Gus - it's nice as always to receive one of your comments! It certainly does require some guess-timating at times, but better than nothing I guess.
I have never had problems asking for 50% up front before starting the job of writing, and no objections from the client. There is always the chance that you won't be paid or it will take an agonisingly long time to get paid if you don't ask. I think you always should ask for payment up front, unless it is hard to determine how much you are to be paid. For instance, I write comedy for stand up comedians, and sometimes I will send a 100 or more jokes to a comedian, who, obviously, doesn't know how many he will buy. But there's always an alternative payment method. Asked to be put on a retainer to supply a certain amount of writing per month. Check my latest hub on working with a comedy writer:
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Work-With-A-Comedy-
missmoo I enjoyed your hub, well put together, and I look forward to checking out your other hubs.
Cheers,
Gordon
GusTheRedneck Level 6 Commenter 23 months ago
missymoo - Sometimes a writer will be paid "per hour" and that may be somewhat difficult to estimate in advance of doing the research, any interviewing, correspondence, and the writing.For such assignments the writer should be prepared to "take a chance" on what it may take to start and complete the job. I did a piece of writing one time for some folks who needed a technical piece for submission to the FDA for a product approval. I examined the documentatiopn they supplied about the product. Then I went over the FDA regs. I guessed that I could do the job in about 100 hours of work (at $25/hour in those days), and so I quoted $2,500 for the job, with half up front. The deal went through and all went well. These things can all be different. I wrote a large computer manual for a computer company in return for a very high royalty payment per book - $7 each. They estimated sales of 100,000 books. It was a fun project, but they kept changing the computer on me and so the writing became never-ending.They went out of business before they sold a single book - no royalties at all. However I did receive $7,800 worth of the original computer system. I still have it. It still works. Being an "antique" system (from early 1977)it is a museum piece and is probably worth more now than it was back when I got the thing. The name of the computer was the "Automated Learning and Education Computer," and they called it their "Smart Alec." The book was given the title, "How to get along with a smart alec computer."
In short: there are many ways to get paid - some good ways and some not so good.Nice article and well said, missymoo.
Gus :-)))