Writing Fees
I follow the Canadian Standards as taken from the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC), however I do work internationally and will negotiate fees.
Many factors affect payment including:
- the type of assignment (e.g., magazine article, speech, marketing report)
- the writer’s skill, background and experience
- rights licensed to the client
- the number of words and/or time the project requires
- the number of interviews and research needed
- the types of rights being purchased
PWAC’s rate guidelines are based on fee information collected from PWAC members across Canada and from various industries that regularly hire writers on a freelance/contract basis.
PWAC’s information reveals large pay variations between markets and locations. For instance, writers tend to earn more in large cities than in other areas of the country. There are also large variations between writers: a very experienced, established writer can charge more for her work than someone just starting out. Therefore, the rates below are general guidelines only. You’ll need to negotiate the exact fee depending on the particulars of the assignment.
Advertising Material
Copy/Scripts/News Releases
$350 to $500 per page
$750 to $1,000 per project for brochures
$75 to $150 per hour
Advertorials (articles commissioned by advertisers)
$0.40 to $2 per word
$100 to $3,000 per article
$40 to $100 per hour
Corporate/Business Writing
Reports/ Marketing Plans/ Technical Writing
$1 to $2 per word
$300 to $12,000 per project
$50 to $125 per hour
Editing
Varies according to publication/project
$30 to $60 per hour
$500 to $20,000 per project
Ghost Writing
Articles
Generally 2-3 times the usual rate
Books
$10,000 to $50,000 flat fee
Entire advance + 50% of royalties
Government Writing
News Releases/Studies/Reports
$1 to $3 per word
$500 to $100,000 per project
$50 to $125 per hour
Newsletters
Writing only; layout extra
$0.30 to $1.50 per word
$400 to $6,000 per issue
$50 to $80 per hour
Newspaper Writing
Large Daily Newspapers
$0.30 to $1.00 per word
$250 to $2,500 per article
$330 to $1,250 per column
Smaller Community Newspapers
$0.10 to $0.50 per word
$75 to $1,000 per article
$75 to $500 per column
Online/Web Site Writing
Varies widely; “business” sites pay higher
$1 to $3 per word
$60 to $100 per hour
Periodical Writing
General Interest/Consumer Magazines
$1.00 to $2 per word
$500 to $10,000 per article
$400 to $1,500 per column
Trade/Special Interest Magazines
$0.30 to $2 per word
$500 to $4,000 per article
$300 to $1,000 per column
Scripts
Radio (highly variable)
$40 to $80 per minute of script
Television (highly variable)
$60 to $130 per minute of script
Speech Writing
$500 to $8,000 per speech
$60 to $130 per hour
Teaching/Instruction
$25 to $80 per hour
$200 to $800 per day
Translation/Adaptation
Literary
$0.10 to $0.20 per word
Other
$0.25 to $0.60 per word
$40 to $80 per hour