Being Paid What You Are WorthI recently turned down a French transcription offer. It was my first job offer since getting my plot synopsis for a novel rejected. At first, I was happy that someone would try to hire me but then I started reading the fine print. The company, out of India, wanted to hire me for seven cents a line for 15 hours of French transcription. HA! La conversation a été placée dans la corbeille. Generally,fifty cents to two dollars a word is standard in the writing business. The Professional Writer's Association of Canada has a fairly good assessment of rates for professional writers.
I told the company very politely that I did translation services, editing, and proofreading for the standard rates. I
figure if I can handcode in my own blog and read French fluently, I don't have to take sweatshop work. It is essential to your career as as writer to know what your value is for the labour that you put into your jobs.Otherwise, if you sell yourself cheap, you will never know your worth.
