I'm a freelancee writer. Need fee structure advice

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I'm a freelance writer who thus far had mostly been working on projects for an amount predetermined by the person I'm working for. I need to, however, come up with my own fee structure so that I can take assignments from anyone. Once a guy told me he'd pay me 250 dollars for a particular project. I believed him because he paid me that amount for a previous project. he never used the new piece I'd given him, and though he might have had something else in mind or his needs might have changed I still think that I should be charged a fee.

More importantly, for the short term, is to come up with a fee structure for writing press-releases, because there is a woman who wants to hire me to write press releases and she was thinking per word, but my research has only turned up per project rates.

Can you help?

 

[A beaker full of death]

I was under the impression that by-the-word was the customary structure.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

research has shown that the "per-word" is not used for such projects. I've considered this carefully and I tend to agree. Part of the writing process is the need to edit: I could draft 500 words, and, after some fierce editing, I could edit the project to 300 words and have it read much better, with tighter language and better flow, and yet, as a writer, I've done much more work (and much harder work) than I did if I turned in the 500-word version.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

Press releases are typically not done on a per-word basis, they're done on per-project billing. How much? Varies widely, I'm afraid, depending on the client and the PR firm involved.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I work with a freelance writer who gets $560/day (or whatever that is when you divide it out by hours) but she's pretty good and has a specific writing style that we are locked into, so that would be on the high end. Press releases are more workmanlike writing that wouldn't command as high a rate as ad copywriting or any writing that requires a very specific style.