Tags
calculating relative value, fair compensation, freelancing, integrity, quality control, work ethic
After a lifetime of working for an organization that resisted quality, that rewarded sloppy work as long as it broke no rules or caused no accidents, that compensated slackers with abundant overtime pay, that asked employees to check their brains and their work ethic at the door, I have entered an entirely new realm. I probably would not like working for me, if I weren’t me. I’m not complimentary. I’m a harsh critic. I hate sloppiness. And I’m driven to beat deadlines by days rather than by hours.
My new career requires no physicality, no suffering through the extremes of heat, cold, wet, ice, or snapping teeth. Now my brain drives success. I must devise workarounds when software fails—or I fail the software. I must figure out how to do what I don’t know how to do. I must hold my temper and resist the urge to fire the client when things slide sideways. Now I am quality control. Whatever rolls out the door is all on me. If errors lurk, they are mine. That extra space between sentences is on me, not on the typist who slipped it in there in the first place.
By far the most challenging dilemma of being my own boss is standing by what I’m worth. I’m committed to charging industry rates. I want no part in stealing potential work from other tech writers who must craft a living from this line of work. But how can I learn to value my work? I am so unaccustomed to acknowledging that I offer value, that my talents might be unique. Each time I calculate an invoice, I shudder inside. I could never afford my own services. How can I expect others to cough up such sums? Each invoice I submit is accompanied by a subliminal apology. I dread the day a client fires back with, “You must be padding this bill! This is exorbitant!”
Time after time, however, I’ve been stupefied to receive the same verbatim response from my clients: “You are worth every penny!” Will I ever believe my clients?
Rangewriter 
This reminds me of when I did freelance graphic design work many years ago (pre-computer… that’s how long ago) and had such a hard time pricing my work. I always way-under charged until one of my clients told me that I needed to value myself more and charge what I was worth… and don’t apologize.
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So did you bump up your charges after that comment? Did you feel like you “owned” those hire fees or did you bump up the fees but feel a bit guilty, a bit like an imposter? I’m just curious if the feeling ever goes away.
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I bumped up my fees but still felt that I had no idea how to value my work. I have to admit that I was much happier working for a set paycheck.
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Good for you and yes, you are worth it! It has always been hard to price my work and let things for for less than worth, but working on it.I enjoyed the photo. Wishing you peace and joy in the season ahead.
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Thanks Jane! I wish you all the best as well. Cheers to a good dose of self-value! 😉
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Just read a Facebook post where another writer friend has had his novel pirated. It’s a sad state of rewarding those who’ve done nothing by stealing from hard working writers. We all deserve to be paid for our creative work–editors too!!
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That’s awful, Renee. Did someone republish his book under a different title, author name? It’s a risk of digital media. They say what’s worth stealing is worthy material. Yeah, but how does one pay the bills with the satisfaction of having steal-worthy material?
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Guess you have a goal for 2017. It’s just as unprofessional to charge too little as it is to get greedy. So get used to it, Linda! You have a great service to offer, obviously, so deal with it! (How’s that for mentoring! And I can never charge a penny! I have work to do too! 😀 )
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Me thinks it’s easier to mentor than to value thyself! Let’s do it together, Amy!
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Love this! Thank you for posting it. I think valuing your work is the number 1 requisite for, well anyone,
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Thank you, Vladimir. And, of course you are right. It’s much like valuing ourselves. Without self-esteem we are mere shells, right? Thanks for dropping by!
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Linda, well done on all counts. I love your picture at the end. Happy holidays my conscientious friend. Keith
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Hah! I hate that photo. But it sort of fits the content in this case, eh? All the best to you, too, my friend.
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It suits the theme.
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NEVER underestimate yourself. I know from my own experience as a freelance translator that people will accept whatever value you put on your work – and if you are expensive, they will assume you are giving top quality. If you are are cheap, they’ll be suspicious. Charge peanuts, get monkeys!
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Wise words for sure, Cat. You know, that’s how I think: You get what you pay for. Want quality? Expect to pay for it. Now I just have to keep that idea in the front of my brain! 😉
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Having read this post, which sounded like you going on a rant, at first, you better believe those clients! You are worth the money, lady 🙂
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Thank you kindly, Duke. You made me laugh! I do sometimes go on rants. 🙂 Thanks for dropping by and saying hello.
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Hi Linda, I wasn’t here in a while and it’s good to see that your writing is still as relevant and as poignant as I remember it. So yeah, every penny! But isn’t it funny how the people who have to offer so much struggle with self-esteem while the phoniest underachievers think the sun shines out of their arse (“I have a very good brain”)!
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OMG, Sandra, I’ve missed you! So glad to hear from you. Now I need to go find out what the Island Monkeys have been up to. I love your wonderful wit and hope you and yours are well. I will be visiting soon…and hope to find some new gems on your blog!
Hugs from a bigly brain.
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Unfortunately still no time to write again, life hasn’t been kind to us this year (our business which we had very successfully built up over the last 2 years burnt down to the ground in September). But I do try to find some respite in a few non-work related activities like reading some of my favourite blogs every now and then (when I don’t pass out on the couch minutes after we’ve taken the kids to bed, that is). Life is too short to pass up on these little pleasures 🙂 Have a wonderful Christmas and a great start into the new year!
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Oh no. I’m so sorry to hear about your business. 2016 has been an all around awful year. (Not necessarily for me, but for many I know and maybe for all of us.) I assume you are still living on that blissful island, which I have forgotten the name of and don’t have time to look up right now. I hope 2016 will be a far better year for your family. Rise from the ashes. Off to ski now in a bunch of fresh snow, nicely delivered just for my birthday! 😉
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WELL SAID!
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Putting this into a broader context, most people who work for themselves experience the feelings you describe. When you remove the organisational filtering and layering that occurs in bureaucratic invoicing and you relate directly to the person for whom you have worked it feels like naked greed to ask for money. The quantum of money is less relevant than the existential reality of one-to-one transacting labour/skill into a monetary measure. Moral of the story: relax Linda, its OK.
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Thanks Richard! I’m trying to relax. No, I am relaxed!
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You just have to take the last sentence to you. You ARE worth it. Maybe you don’t have the money to pay for the quality you offer yourself. However, you are not about money, but quality. That is always valuable. In business everybody is talking about added value, that’s exactly what you do. All this said, I know exactly how you feel. In all my professional life I have sold my services, and it still doesn’t come easy when I have to bill my clients. But I have learned to look the other way. 🙂
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I am very lucky to have a baseline, guaranteed income. If I really had to earn a living off my business, I would either starve or go mad, or probably both! It takes great strength of character and courage to charge what one needs to charge for doing something we love doing. Keep turning your head the other way…you’ll probably see something interesting to photgraph! 😉
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