Pricing Advice for Private Piece

[JoyRCalderwood]

I posted this on the author's forum but see it is so far down no one may answer and I was hoping to decide today.

I have a private request that at first I was thinking of turning down as I was not familiar with the topic. Instead I took it and did research so have spent well over 10 hrs on it.

The buyer put the price range at $50 to $100 and it is 1200 words.

Would you charge $100? Or would you go in lower for a first client and a new topic? That is such a broad price range. I have a couple of spin off articles I can do with the research I've done so that should help justify the time.

It's funny because the article is partly about the "Starving Artist" and here I am not ready to charge a full amount.

[Celeste Stewart]

I would charge $100 - that works out to 8 cents per word, which is reasonable and within the customer's stated budget. Customers don't really care whether you spent one hour or 10 hours on the project so long as the finished work is good and within budget.

[JoyRCalderwood]

Yes, I know they don't care about the time. In my mind, it is still poor compensation for my time, but on the other hand paying $100 for one sheet of paper seems crazy too.

Thanks for your feedback.

I guess the doubt I have is what if after all this time spent they decide it's not quite what they want?

Is it any value saying "or best offer" or is that shooting yourself in the foot?

[Celeste Stewart]

I wouldn't best offer it. If the customer has a problem with the price, he'll likely let you know. 8 cents a word really is reasonable.

[carpenjoyce]

I definitely wouldn't put in a best offer clause. You're inviting people to lowball you. If I put in that much time, I'd rather see the article go up on cc and eventually sell to someone else than accept a low price for it. Buyers pay well over $100 for less than 1000 words all the time. When someone needs something everyone can't write, they're willing to pay for your services. I'm fairly new here, so I've only had a handful of private requests, but every one of them was accepted at the price I specified--no questions asked.

Someday web writers are going to figure out that their time and effort are worth something, and they're going to insist on being paid accordingly. That's going to be a sweet day for all of us.

[Jaye]

And remember, you're only going to see $65 of that $100.