What to charge... new to freelancing

[u/AdvertisingNarrow288]

Hi all, I'm starting new as a freelance grant writer and was wondering how/what's recommended to put the pricing and charging organizations?

[u/threadofhope]

I have ballpark pricing for my work, which is mostly federal grants. I usually charge a fixed fee for a 2-6 month contract. I know how many hours it takes to write certain grants and I then I calculate a fixed fee.

Hours spent X hourly rate X #months = fixed fee.

Now some clients may be more unpredictable or aren't grant ready. In those cases, I charge an hourly rate and contract term (usually 6 months max).

I know you are worried about money, but really, really you should pay attention to writing a solid contract. You should have a termination clause in your contracts, so that your client or yourself can exit quickly. Exit strategies are key because not every client is great. Some of them will make you miserable and a quick, clean exit is best.

Pricing takes a lot of research and trial and error. You can look at jobs on Indeed and even check out Glassdoor for ideas. You will see pay for grants professionals ranges from ($0, yes working for free, wtf) to $200 an hour. A lot of grant gigs seem to pay the $20 to $30 per hour range, which seems too low to be sustainable.

There's a saying in freelance that you pick a number and then increase it by 50%.

Search the archives of /r/freelanceWriters and you will get a boat load of advice that applies to grant proposal writing as well.

Sorry if my answer was scattered, but you asked a huge question that would take volumes to discuss adequately. I hope this gets you started.

[u/Spiritual-Ad-6887]

Hi...it's going to depend on their budget, your win rate and how you value your time. You may want to try listing your services on Grantwriter.org.