Re: What's a good freelance rate for technical writers?

[Sandy Harris <sandyinchina -at- gmail -dot- com>]

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 1:57 AM, Mark Filiatreau <mfiliatreau -at- psi-it -dot- com> wrote:

> I am quitting my full-time tech writing job, but my company has already
> asked me to be available as a contractor on an as-needed basis. ÂI was
> asked, "What's your rate?"

One rule of thumb is that the daily rate for a contractor should be around
1% of the annual salary they'd get as a full-time employee. For example,
if the full-time job paid $70,000, ask for $700 a day.

This may sound high, but regular work, after leave & holidays, is not much
more than 200 days a year. The argument is that you need about twice
the rate to compensate for getting zero benefits and the risk of being
without work from time to time.
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