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We wanted to get to know Jake Poinier (NAIWE’s Freelance Expert) better, so last month we sat down with him. Here are some thoughts he shared with us.

What considerations should be factored into every price?

The more detail you can put in your calculation, the better. At a minimum, you want to know the length/format/content you are dealing with, what you’re expected to do to it, communications/meeting time, revisions anticipated, and deadline. A proper estimate also needs to incorporate a ton of gray areas. The more unknowns there are, the more conservative you should be about estimating–which is particularly true with new, unproven clients.

Is it ethical for freelancers to revisit a price in the midst of a project?

Everything about price should be spelled out and agreed upon prior to the start of the project; you can’t just change a price midstream because the project (or client!) turns out to be more challenging than you estimated. One of those elements would include price implications of tasks that are outside of the scope of work. So, if you agree that a project is a 5-page website and the client expands that to 10 pages, you need to have a contract that defines what happens–and you should be very clear with the client when they are making requests outside the scope. In other words, you don’t want to just surprise them with a bigger invoice.

Should freelancers set their prices to be comparable to other freelancers’ offering the same services?

In business, there’s no requirement to be comparable, so I’d say “should” doesn’t really apply. If you personally know freelancers who have similar skills, experience, and client types, however, you’re likely to be in the same range, simply because that’s what the market is willing to bear. This is why I don’t put much faith in industry surveys–you have no idea who is answering them.

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Freelance pricing isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition — and overlooking the nuances can leave you feeling overworked and underpaid. In this webinar, Jake “Dr. Freelance” Poinier discusses the principles of estimating, incorporating a range of diverse practice examples with real-world project descriptions and client scenarios.

You can join in this conversation on July 25 at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on estimating your projects. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

Jake Poinier made the leap into freelance writing and editing in 1999 after a decade of positions in the publishing industry, giving him key insights from both sides of the desk. As the founder and owner of Boomvang Creative Group, he has worked with a diverse array of Fortune 500 and small businesses, consumer and trade magazines, and independent authors. Jake is committed to helping freelancers improve their businesses and shares his knowledge and experiences frequently as a speaker at industry conferences, through webinars, and on his blog.

We wanted to get to know Ruth Thaler-Carter (NAIWE’s Networking Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

How many questions should be asked in an interview?

There’s no standard limit for the number of questions to ask someone in an interview. Sometimes the client will provide the questions they want to answer; sometimes the interviewer handles that aspect. I always prefer to ask more questions than I might need, even if that means having to spend some time on editing responses to fit a word limit. I love it when there’s no word limit! The absolute minimum would be three questions: Please confirm your name, title, and affiliation. What is important about your job or project? What (else) would you like our readers to know about you/your topic?

As the interviewee, how can you get the interviewer to ask the questions you want to answer?

The interviewee can say something ahead of time, by email or phone, about the topics you see as most important to cover. Let the interviewer know something like, “I’m most passionate about …,” “Let’s be sure to include X as my favorite [whatever],” “I think achievement X is my most important contribution,” etc.

What ways can interviewees get selected for an interview?

Being visible in social media and professional association outlets, having a blog with regular posts, speaking at events, presenting webinars, disseminating press releases about achievements, writing letters to the editor with opinions about local or national issues, and similar outreach can get attention that leads to interviews. You can even contact someone with a blog or publication where you’d like to be interviewed and let them know what you would like to talk about and why it might be of interest to their audience. In turn, the interviews can result in more invitations to speak, contribute blog posts, participate in events, and so on. It’s a self-propelling process or cycle. All of these activities feed each other and help establish you as an expert.

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Interviews are key to a variety of writing and editing work. Whether you’re doing an interview with a subject for a project or are the subject of one yourself, interviewing is an art and a skill. This webinar will focus on how to craft interviews that make the topic and subject come to life, along with tips on being a better subject oneself.

Ruth E. Thaler-Carter has been interviewing experts and colleagues on a wide range of topics for many years and has been the subject of varied interviews herself.

You can join in this conversation on June 24 at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on becoming an expert interviewer. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

Ruth Thaler-Carter has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, proofreader, desktop publisher, and speaker for more than 30 years. She has been published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally in, and does writing, editing, and proofreading for, publications, associations, nonprofits, websites, service firms, independent authors, and businesses. She sold her first freelance articles when she was still in high school. Often called the Queen of Networking, Ruth is active in about a dozen professional associations, serving as a newsletter editor, webmaster, publication author, speaker/presenter, blogger, program host or planner, and chapter leader. In 2006, Ruth launched the Communication Central Be a Better Freelancer annual conference, now cohosted with NAIWE — to help aspiring and established freelancers find greater success. Ruth is also owner and editor-in-chief of the An American Editor blog and owner of the A Flair for Writing publishing business. Her honors include member of her high school alumni hall of fame, in part for her publishing work and networking services; Writers and Books Big Pencil Award for teaching adults and contributions to the literary community; EFfie awards for writing, editing, and newsletters; an APEX award for feature writing; the Philip M. Stern Award of Washington (DC) Independent Writers for service to freelancers; and IABC/DC Communicator of the Year and Silver Quills for magazine writing and newsletters.