The numbers game

So an email's circulated on a list I belong to, offering a book that needs copy-editing. There's a catch - the copy-ed needs to be super-familiar with the topic, because it's rather specialised. No problem - I fit the criteria perfectly, whizz over my CV and a cover email and sit back and wait...

A week goes by. No word. I presume someone else has been given the book, which inexplicably infuriates me. Not just because I really wanted to do this book, but because there's a recession on and I need all the work I can get. But then, lo! Another 3 days pass and out of the blue I'm asked if I'm still available to edit the book. Damn right I am.

I'm given a word count and a "budget", which can be roughly translated as "this is the fee on offer and if you don't like it, tough." I dig out my calculator and do some sums. I know I'm skilled. I also know I can work fast as well as accurately. And so, sight unseen, I estimate that if the MS doesn't need too much work it'll only take X hours and the fee, while not brilliant in today's recession-driven climate, will be reasonable and at least cover August's rent and bills. I accept.

The manuscript arrives. I do my usual procrastination but of course there's a deadline and I eventually knuckle down. Half a day in, with 40 pages under my belt, I suddenly notice that the word count is almost a fifth higher than I was originally led to expect. Ouch.

I go back and examine the chain of email between me and the desk ed. It doesn't look as if there's any room for more money. But wait. This is a major publishing house. And this is not about an extra 1,000 or 2,000 words. If it had been, I'd probably have sucked it up in the hope of getting more work in the future from the client. No, it's an additional 20,000 words...

Only one thing for it. I fire off a diplomatic email and politely ask for more money and an extra 3 days' editing time. Within minutes, I'm granted both. Result. I get the extra 3 days, more if I need them.

And best of all, the revised fee I agree to accept is more than a fifth higher than the original. In other words, I'll be paid more overall pro rata.

Now that's what I call a win...

A fair fee for the job

Sometime last week, a publishing company not a million miles from Wordsmith Towers got in touch to offer me some on-site copy-editing work. I'm not averse to working on-site - it can make a welcome change from being home-based, with the opportunity to meet new people and make new contacts.

And so it was that yesterday I got suited and booted and headed into the darkest depths of south Manchester to go and shake hands and talk terms. The job was straightforward enough in terms of what was required and all the work was on-screen (I gave up working on paper proofs 20 years ago). So far, so good.

Inevitably, the discussion turned to money. I was completely gobsmacked to be told the budget was £10 to £15 per hour - for this, they want a skilled and experienced copy-editor who can correct, rewrite, re-order material, fact-check, flag up queries, deal with authors and all the rest. (Plus I was facing an hour's commute each way, by two buses.)

I pointed out, as politely as possible but through somewhat gritted teeth, that the suggested minimum rate my professional body, the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, recommends for such work is £26 per hour. My own minimum rate is even higher, and that doesn't include rewriting and re-ordering. His face was a picture when I told him how much I charge.

Somehow, I don't think I'll be accepting the work if it's offered to me, although I doubt it will be. I'm simply too expensive, dahlinks. Besides, it looks as though I've enough work right until at least July (and yes, the holiday has been postponed, but I will take one soon).

Fees and friends

Two very useful items I'd like to draw attention to.

Firstly, the NUJ has revised its Freelance Fees Guide. This extensive list of typical rates for the job is incredibly handy for working out what to charge clients or what rates to expect from the press. I consult this several times a year when something outside my usual range of services drops into my lap and I need a helping hand to price a job.

Secondly, a very handy post from the Freelance Switch blog, which is always packed with good tips and advice. This post on banishing lonely freelance syndrome will strike a chord with many. Working from home can be really isolating so it's important to use all your options to maintain contact with the outside world. You have to create your own water cooler, basically. I use almost all of the 11 tips and techniques - the cat keeps me company (even if he annoys the hell out of me at times by commandeering my desk as his personal bed), I chat on Twitter, Facebook and forums with colleagues and friends, and I aim to get out of the house at least once a day, either just for a walk in the fresh air and to enjoy a change of scenery or to do something - pop to the butcher for my dinner, meet a colleague or client, or drop in on my neighbour (also self-employed) for coffee.

Most of these tips will also refresh your brain, giving you renewed zip as you plough through the editing of that tedious 600-page tome on insurance risk, or helping generate ideas for features if you write. Both of which will, of course, earn you money and send you back to the NUJ fees guide for the right rate...

Win-win!

Getting paid

It's the end of a month and I've just spent a tedious half-day invoicing various clients and getting my books up to date. It's a relief to see that not too many people owe me money. Apart from one client who still owes me £145 from a much larger bill sent in February. Most of it has been settled in dribs and drabs over the intervening months but I don't want to get heavy as this client does give me regular, prestigious work, even if the rate is not fantastic. My accountant will not be pleased though if the debt drags over into yet another tax year.

Money is also an issue when you freelance. One hack I know of through an online forum writes for the national press and was asked by another client if she would write a lengthy feature. She said yes, until she found out the payment on offer was £25. Stick a nought on that and you might be getting somewhere... You have to laugh or you'd weep. Our trade is being wrecked by the zillion and one wannabes out there who are prepared to work for little or nothing. An example: someone on a business forum I use offers to write articles on any subject to be used as content on someone else's business website. His charge? £4 an article. Yes, you read that correctly -4 measly quid.

The number of outlets (particularly on the net) seeking writers who are willing to work solely for the kudos and the portfolio clippings is also rising. And now the NUJ is planning to confront the government over the blatant disregard for the minimum wage laws by newspapers and magazines who ask students to do up to 6 months' work experience for free. That's not work experience, that's exploitation.

Writing is a profession and a skill. It can be incredibly hard at times - staring at a blank page and struggling to string it all together (thankfully, for us professionals that's not an everyday occurrence but it can happen at times). As a professional skill, writing should and must command a professional remuneration. Why should we work for nothing? Newspaper bosses don't work for free. Neither does the editor, the page designer or the secretary.

I leave you with this fabulous clip, brought to me by a fellow hack today. It made me laugh but it has the bitter ring of truth to it...

Scooping myself

I've been in possession of news of a hot local scandal for a month, during which time I've been itching to break it. I haven't, precisely because it's time-sensitive and I was waiting for the right time to crack open the story. Plus, I didn't want to land someone else who was involved in the proverbial and there was the thorny issue, too, of losing a valuable business contact if I attached my name to the story.

Matters came to a head last night as it was time. After pondering the options this morning, I rang the local paper, anonymously, and tipped them off. To my delight, the journalist I spoke to revealed that the paper was already investigating the scandal but from a completely different angle and the information I passed on was something they hadn't known of. The paper, of course, will get the scoop and I won't get any credit for my part.

I'm a bit gutted that I won't earn anything from this, but I shall be satisfied by seeing an even bigger version of the story splashed (on the front page, with any luck) later this week. And I'll be glad that the public will at last learn that they had been fooled.

On a brighter note, I've just landed a regular pitch for a foreign publication. It was touch and go for a while, as the publisher dithered over whether to pay me the rate I had asked for. Today I had confirmation that I would get the fees I want, so it's full steam ahead.

20 days...

Since I last posted! Gulp! I really hadn't meant to leave it so long but the bright side is that I was incredibly busy with work. And then I took a much-needed holiday with my beloved P.

In the week ending Friday 26 May, I planned my workload carefully so that I could keep the Friday clear for such trivialities as tidying my desk and sending out invoices. I had a huge list of "things to do" which I methodically worked my way through as the morning ticked by. Alas (but not really), my plans went awry (or arse up as it's known in the trade). I belong to a discussion list for journalists and have been posting stuff on it occasionally. In one post, I mentioned that a large chunk of my earnings comes from editorial work. A very nice Dutch guy on the list took it on himself to contact me that morning and offer me regular work. I was delighted, especially as I'm well used to editing English written by Dutch speakers. I was expecting some negotiation about fees and rates but was even more delighted that he agreed to pay me what I was asking for with no quibbles. He sent me an article immediately which I spent my Friday afternoon working on, and earned a useful sum. I also had an interesting spat on another forum, of which more later...

Finally, the list was cleared, I poured a glass of wine and contemplated packing my bags.

Next morning, we flew here. The weather was good so we did all the usual stuff - the Louvre, the Musee Carnavelet, the islands, the Basilica in St Denis (where I lived in the early 90s - St Denis, that is, not the basilica), the Conciergerie and the attached church of La Sainte Chapelle, which has the most exquisite stained glass windows ever, and the cemetery at Pere Lachaise. We ate the best ice cream in France at Berthillon and dined every night at a different restaurant. We ate amazingly well actually and drank lots of wine and absinthe, too. It felt like coming home - it was my first proper trip back to Paris since I left in spring 1995. Much has changed but much is still wonderfully the same. I also caught up with some old friends and, of course, we shopped for England, bringing home gourmet goodies to die for, including a rare bottle of violet syrup (with which to make kir royale with a difference!).

Now, it's time to knuckle down and start work again. A spot of proofreading first, for some web copy that's about to go live.