How much? It depends.

How much does a freelance writer charge?  

You know the saying, 'words are cheap?' Well, that may be true - but writing skills have tremendous value. And the wrong words can be extremely costly. But don't worry - my fees won't cost you an arm, or a leg. I promise. 

 My charges are reasonable, and I'll often work on a 'per project' basis. That way, clients know what to expect from the start.  In other words, the answer to "how much?" is, "it depends." Call me; we'll figure it out.

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Ok, that little ditty is still true - it's how I handled the question on my website before I revamped the pages. It seemed like a good idea to get a little more mileage out of those paragraphs here...

But if you're a freelance writer, you know "it depends" isn't quite the right answer. Too often, the answer to "how much do you charge" is "not enough." Scope creep is alive and well and you'll find it drags out almost every project. 

To be fair, when I feel that way about 9 of my last 10 projects, I know what I should do: it's time to raise my rates. 

The last time I felt this way, however, I tried a different tactic. Instead of taking a deep breath and preparing a "my rates have changed" speech, I created a list of questions to ask clients before beginning a project. My hope is that, if we answer those 5 little questions, neither one of us should be surprised by a project that morphs into something completely different. 

Well, a girl can hope.  

~Diane Stresing

Working With Lawyers

Some things must be written for lawyers; fewer things must be written by lawyers. Take employee handbooks. Those must be written for employees, with help from lawyers. Read more on that good advice from SHRM here. (free registration required)

On the one hand, SHRM argues, the employee handbook should be a welcoming document, guidelines giving a framework to life inside the organization (virtually or in the flesh). When lawyers write guidelines, they're rarely welcoming or friendly. And in spite of their best intentions, lawyers can write their way into legal trouble, says SHRM.

Overly legalistic language can make a handbook impenetrable to most employees and might wind up doing more harm than good when there is a legal challenge... (and) wind up unduly limiting the employer’s discretion.---SHRM vol 54 no 5, May 1, 2009

Writing for lawyers can be a drag, frankly. I've done it for more than a decade for one client in particular, whose newsletters must pass legal review before being sent to the intended audience.

For years, I struggled to write for the intended readers and "around" the lawyers.

Unfortunately, I rarely hear from the client's clients - but I hear from the lawyers regularly. Fortunately (for the intended newsletter audience) somewhere along the way I realized that those readers need suggestions that have passed the legal test. Otherwise, they can't heed the advice without running it by council. Obvious? Well, maybe to you. But I have to say it was an AHA! moment for me. And while I still struggle to write the monthly and quarterly newsletters, it's different now.

Now when I pound out those articles, I try to imagine we're working as a team, those lawyers and I. We're not developing a long list of "don'ts," we're offering a legally-insulating "to-do" list. There still are mushy words like "may" and "should" when I really want to write "will" and "should," but you won't find a "heretofore" or "whereas" in my copy.

Because while the party of the first part and the party of the second part may not be having a party, at least we can work together.