I Doubled My Hourly Earnings as a Freelance Writer — Here’s How

Six actions that helped me write faster

Ioana Andrei
The Startup

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Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA

If you’re a freelance writer, your writing speed determines how much you pay yourself per hour. Your hourly earnings then impact your monthly income.

Many of us get paid per word by our clients. Otherwise, it’s according to a formula based on the total word count. So, the speed at which you write matters.

Writing more quickly means you free up more time. More time means you could take on more work. Or a rejuvenating break.

Also, creating content more easily suggests you’re getting better at your craft and topics of expertise. This could prompt you to make some bold career moves, like taking on new clients or going fully freelance. (Yup, I did both of those things.)

About 2 and a half years ago, when I started getting paid writing work, I didn’t give much thought to efficiency. I was learning the ropes.

But, gradually, I went from producing 500 to 4,000 words per week. During that time, I doubled my earnings per hour of writing — from about $17 to $34 an hour.

Partially, that’s to do with my rate per word increasing on average by about 25%. But, to a large degree, it’s because I’m a much faster writer. And this has…

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