Someone Paying You For Your Work. Opinions?

• Upper90

  Here's a question.
  
  If someone states that they want to "commission your work"...shouldn't it be up to THEM to have a price ready at the time of that statement? Any other time I've ever done this work (writing) for anyone, there was a price there, and it was up to me whether or not it was worth my time/etc. (and it always is, because.....I mean....I'm not THAT good, and getting paid anything at all to do something you enjoy is nice.), but I had a person on Thursday tell me they needed some text for a performance they're doing on Friday, and told me that they would pay me....but that I would have to tell them how much I want.
  
  I told them that they could pay me whatever they felt comfortable with, they responded that they wanted to pay me "What I was worth". But since I actually want more than $1.74, I'm now in the uncomfortable position of naming a price for my work. Am I wrong? shouldn't she have set a price beforehand? I'm no expert.
• Con_Alma

  It's been my experience that those who provide the service set the price.
• OneBuckeye

  

  You should have a standard rate... at least $60 an hour.
• McFly1955

  

  Con_Alma wrote: It's been my experience that those who provide the service set the price.

  
  This.
  
  I can't really think of an instance where I've had it the other way around...
• Gblock

  the person might have no idea of what the going rate is, and they may not know how long it will take you and probably dont want to insult you with a lowball offer so i would say you should set the price.
• Upper90

  I think I've just had a different experience, where people have offered like, "Hey, if you write this...by this point...I'll pay you this....acceptable?"
  
  However, I DO see the point of the person not knowing what the going rate is/not wanting to insult. That makes sense. I mean, if I'm focused, which I won't be today....but tomorrow. Yeah...tomorrow....It'll take me no more than an hour or two to write, thus I'm not going to drop the hammer financially, plus, I mean...I ENJOY writing. But, I also want to give a fair price.
• ytownfootball

  

  Upper,
  
  You need to set your price, particularly if you're looking to do this more in the future. It lends professionalism to your craft as not being something any can "just do". From experience, it always gives the appearance of confidence in what you do.
  
  That doesn't mean that you should close yourself to negotiation. Word of mouth is obviously your best form of advertisement, and that you have confidence in your abilities goes a long way in securing new jobs.
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  75.89/hr is what I'd charge you for systems integration work. And you'd be getting a bargain.
• jmog

  Z4P is cheap, I know my company charges about $100 for my time if another company needs me for something, so I charge $80/hr when I've done "consulting" on the side.
  
  That's if you are getting "jmog" the engineer, if you are getting "jmog" the math/science tutor its usually around $30/hr as the going rate for tutors is much lower than engineering consulting.
  
  I, unfortunately, don't get to "consult" that much, would love the extra money though.
  
  However, to answer the question, the person providing the service should set the price.
  
  Think of it as going into a restaurant, you are the customer, do you get to set the food prices or are they already on the menu? Same thing here, the one getting the service doesn't set the price, the one giving the service does.
  
  Not saying there can't be some negotiating if the customer thinks your price is too high.
• Manhattan Buckeye

  It sounds like he's not making you an offer, but rather inviting you to make him an offer which means you set the terms of the deal, including price, and he can accept or decline.
  
  There are few instances where service providers do not set the price, but in my experience it was typically where the person requesting the service sends out a general solicitation of services with an offer, which for me was usually landscaping/agricultural work back in the day (e.g. farmer would send out the word he'll pay $8/hour for kids to help him harvest his tobacco, and the kids would show up and provide the service). This doesn't seem to be the case as it isn't a general solicitation but rather a personal invitation for you to make the offer.
• Upper90

  This is all great feedback/advice. Much appreciated.
  
  I'm kind of still feeling my way around actually getting income for this. I mean, it's not my actual job, and to some extent, will PROBABLY not be my career (freelance writing/writing in general), so all of this is good input.
• sherm03

  

  Whenever I've been contacted about doing a show, I have a set price that I want to be paid for a certain amount of stage time.
  
  Usually, someone will email me, I'll let them know my rate...and then negotiations begin.
  
  Take pride in your work man...and let them know what you think you are worth. This guy probably has no idea what to pay for your writing...and is hoping you can give him a starting point.
  
  Don't close yourself off either. If you quote him a price, and he feels it's too high...be open to some negotiations.
  
  Good luck.
• ZWICK 4 PREZ

  

  jmog wrote: Z4P is cheap, I know my company charges about $100 for my time if another company needs me for something, so I charge $80/hr when I've done "consulting" on the side.
  
  That's if you are getting "jmog" the engineer, if you are getting "jmog" the math/science tutor its usually around $30/hr as the going rate for tutors is much lower than engineering consulting.
  
  I, unfortunately, don't get to "consult" that much, would love the extra money though.
  
  However, to answer the question, the person providing the service should set the price.
  
  Think of it as going into a restaurant, you are the customer, do you get to set the food prices or are they already on the menu? Same thing here, the one getting the service doesn't set the price, the one giving the service does.
  
  Not saying there can't be some negotiating if the customer thinks your price is too high.

  75.89 is a figure my accountant suggested after giving him all the details. He's worked for my grandparents business and my dad's personal use. I have the luxury of knowing what the guy I do 99% of the work for charges, so the number was pretty easy to come up with.
• fan_from_texas

  It's much better to be in the situation of making the first offer. Do some googling/craigslisting to get a sense of the going rate. By making the first offer, you can "anchor" the other person and get a fair price.
• OUgrad

  What FFT and everyone else said!
• 2kool4skool

  

  Upper90 wrote:If someone states that they want to "commission your work"

  I assume it's some sort of thinly-veiled sexual innuendo. I kill them to be safe.
• Darkon

  

  Ask him if he knows how much is to much for your service. When he says "yes" tell him to subtract $5 and thats what you want.
  Actually had this happen to me. I laughed my ass off.
• Upper90

  Hey, here's a "thank you" for all of the quality advice I got on this thread.
  
  It ended up being helpful, I came to an agreement on what I felt my work was worth, and was paid accordingly. Now I don't have to kill.
  
  But, yeah, thanks a lot to everyone who chipped in, it was a great help.
• fan_from_texas

  Good to hear this, Upper. Best of luck making some money!