How much to Charge for Content Writing ?
The pay rates in the Indian writing market are highly variable and can range anywhere between Rs.0.30 – Rs.3 per word. While you can do little to negotiate on company or publication projects, you can certainly have your say as far as individual clients go.
Print and online publications in India typically pay Rs.1/word or a flat rate of Rs.1000 for a 800-1000 word article. From personal experience I can say that small-scale, lesser known and niche magazines pay better (Rs.2/word) than their more popular cousins. Extremely popular magazines like Woman’s Era and magazines from the Time’s group have surprisingly low pay rates (less than Rs.1/word) but they make it up by the kind of exposure they offer. Besides, big-shot names do look good on a portfolio. Online publications follow a similar pattern for payments but the processing is faster (some print publications can take months to dispatch a petty amount).
Editing and Proofreading: Now I am not sure what other people charge, but I do have a rate-sheet for editing and proofreading projects that roughly goes as follows:
– Only proofreading: Rs.100 for 300 words (counted as 1 page)
– Editing and minor rewriting: Rs. 150 for 300 words
– Heavy editing and rewriting: Rs. 200 for 300 words
These rates include two complete rounds of edits and finishing.
Blogs can be quoted at Rs 350-500 per post (250-300 words or even longer) depending on the complexity of the subject, research involved, creative skill and subject expertise (on some occasions writers have gone up to Rs 1500 per post).