If you’re a Writer, you know that client pricing is remarkably opaque. Unless you know other writers or do a lot of research, it’s hard to know how much to charge — especially if you’re just getting started. But what’s equally intriguing about Hemingway’s rate is the pricing structure — per word.

Experienced writers back then urged me to charge per project.

I know writers who charge per hour and have seen gigs for the same. So what’s the best pricing structure? Per word, per project, or per hour? I’ve experimented with different pricing as a content strategist and found that the most advantageous pricing comes down to how you actually work.

01 — Charging per hour.

Charging by the hour is the least appealing; it punishes fast writers. If I were to charge hourly, it does not reflect my expertise. I can write fast on Web3 because I’ve been in the industry for half a decade. An hourly rate diminishes my knowledge. But if I write slowly, clients question why it takes so long.

Do you include thinking time? Would a client be billed for that?

My resistance to per-hour pricing is editing work. Most editors I know charge per hour. They have no way of predicting how much editing an article will need — even with two articles of identical length from the same writer. If a client insists that you charge per hour, you have a few rudimentary options:

1. You can fudge your hours. I’ve done this — and told the client I was doing so. The client required a per-hour rate because of their accounting system. I let the client know that I would be submitting hours that reflected the amount I wanted to be paid. And the client was fine with it.

2. You can charge “up to” hourly pricing. The per-hour rate becomes a flat rate per project. If you end up getting faster over time because you’re more familiar, you’re still earning the same. But if a project takes you longer than expected, you can bill for the additional work above Y hours.

02 — Per project.

When you charge per project, you’re being paid for the value you provide. You should still do some math since you don’t want to quote a per-project rate that equates to a low hourly rate. It’s really simple for clients to understand and budget for a per-project rate, as it ends up being a fixed cost.

When you charge per project, watch out for scope creeps.

If clients ask you to do more, you are not paid additional.

I have experience with clients who tried to exploit there.

You should make sure that your contract clearly outlines what you’ll do for that per-project rate — and what you won’t do. If there are some frequent “add-on” requests, you can include those in your contract, so that you don’t need to sign a new agreement or negotiate when you’re mid-project.

I charged per project for a long time, but eventually, I ran into some drawbacks. My per-project pricing was based on a word count range. For example, 800–1200 words would be one price and 1200–1500 words would be a lower price. But If a client wanted exactly 1200 words, then what?

Is that the lower price or the higher price? Or what if a client wanted 1000–1500 words, something that wasn’t on my pre-set pricing menu? I was customizing proposals all the time, which wasn’t a good use of my time. I wanted pricing that was easy to include on proposals, and easy to track.

03 — Per word.

It was also hard to answer a prospective client’s questions about pricing on a call, and pricing would inevitably come up. I’d have to say, “Well, it depends on the length of the deliverable…” I’d end up sending per-project pricing after the call and hope that the prospective client would read it.

Some people say that per-word pricing doesn’t reflect a writer’s value. I understand this argument. If a client asks you to cut a single sentence, they pay you less. Your incentive is to write more, and the client’s incentive might be for you to write less. And relax, even I had split “don’t” into “do not.”

I have per-word pricing — but I avoid relying on individual words to get paid. I don’t want to haggle over every word. Instead, I tell clients that my per-word pricing is based on target word count, not actual word count. If the client tells me 800, I charge for 800 — even if I come in at 782 or 811.

If the client provides a range, I’ll charge for the median.

Clients are setting the parameters for the deliverable, not me. For the most part, I come very close to the target. I know that if I go over, I’m donating additional time and energy. I have a stipulation in my agreement that if requests for revisions cause me to go above the initial target, I’ll charge more.

That way, I am not bound by the initial word count.

I don’t have to think about how my per-word rate breaks down into an hourly rate, because I’m comfortable that the rate covers my time. If, for some reason, a deliverable takes longer than expected, I don’t worry about it. More than likely, another deliverable took less time than expected.

It all balances out.

Different pricing for different clients.

I think through the differentiators between types of clients or the scope of projects. Few clients rely on my FinTech expertise, so I quote my highest. I write for Web3 companies in general, so most are in my middle. And then I write for agencies, where I charge less because these projects are less work.

These should be reflected in your pricing structure as well.

You want your pricing to reflect the value you provide.

No matter if you charge per word, per hour, or per project.