SiteI Dare You
Go ahead, I dare you: This week, ask at least one editor for a raise.
If you’ve been working with a magazine for a while, it may be time to ask for more money. I usually say something like, “I’ve written articles for your last six issues, and you and your readers seem to like my work. Can we talk about bumping up my payrate?” In many cases, your editor will go to bat for you with whoever it is that controls the money. The worst that can happen is they say no, but the best that can happen is that you walk away with more money in your pocket!
I’ve rarely had an editor say no, and one time my editor increased my payrate from $1 per word to $1.50 per word, making me the highest paid freelance writer for that magazine!
So: What are your plans this week for asking for more money? Post your ideas in the Comments section! [lf]
2 Responses to “I Dare You”
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Lenore Hume
Said this on November 20th, 2007 at 3:23pm:First of all, I love the Renegade Writer books. As a recent full time convert to freelance writing after 10 years of part time, they are my bibles! In response to your post on asking for a raise, I had a slightly different situation but equally rewarding for an increase in pay. I was offered a contract for a magazine I had never written for, five minutes after I sent in my query (yay! that is so rare!). But it was quite a limiting contract for my rights as a writer. Based on some ‘renegade’ advice, I asked for the ‘other’ contract. The editor responded right away and explained that although they were unable to change the contract, she would bump up my freelance pay. So even though I didn’t get the contract I wanted, I got more money just by asking and huge exposure to readers with this high circulation magazine. It never hurts to ask!
LindaFormichelli
Said this on November 20th, 2007 at 10:11pm:Lenore, congrats on your success! It’s super that you got more money just by asking. If editors can’t change the contract, it’s always worth asking for more money to compensate for the rights they want.