When you are just starting out, the temptation to work for lower prices is very strong. We are trained by employers to expect low wages to begin with even if we have skills or knowledge that give us an advantage in a particular field. We are taught to expect little and hope for small increases every once in a while.The fact is, if you have talent as a writer, you deserve to be compensated accordingly. Do not settle for one penny per word. Have you calculated how much time it takes you to write? If I am in the groove, writing something that requires no research and can be written off the top of my head, I can get about 1,800-2,000 words in an hour, give or take a few. At $.01 per word, that is $18-20. While that doesn’t seem like a bad price, what happens when your article needs research and supporting links, as many do? For me, a researched article of 1,000 words can take an hour or more. That means I am working harder, performing research, and getting a measly $10 per hour at a penny per word.
It is not unreasonable to expect $.02-$.05 per word or higher. Consider that same 1,000-word article at $.05. Now you are looking at a very livable, reasonable wage of $50 per hour. Why settle for $10 when there is no shortage of clients willing to pay $50?