Freelance writing rates?

[roddy]

Anyone got any idea what kind of rates freelance writers currently command when writing in / for China? Last time I dealt with any of the ex-pat publications I was told 1Y a word was the going rate, and that was for a certain well-known Beijing rag thats will remain nameless. Is that still current?

[cdn_in_bj]

I'm guessing that wasn't an unintended typo but rather a clever hint you left us there.

[ipsi()]

1RMB / word doesn't seem too bad, given that there are places in the US which pay 5c/word. Or so I understand. I've never actually been paid to write anything.

[zozzen]

1y is for Chinese or English?

I had arranged a small project that outsourced some works in Shenzhen. We paid them 1y for each english word, but I know the outsourcing house indeed outsourced parts of the project to other companies, so the rate may be cheaper if you get a right person.

Last time i wrote freelance Chinese articles, each character was generally HK$1-3. So far the best offer, if you count character only, is writing 400 characters with a lot of graphics for HK$2000.

[littleknight23]

1y/word is great. I myself once worked as a copywriter/ translator, and everyone who has read my English to Chinese translations & Chinese compositions never doubt my ability on that. But seems my company never paid me so much… surely I know there must be some differences between freelance and employe, but that’s still a good price for me.

Sorry for my poor English.

[littleknight23]

Zozzen, if you have any projects like that again, would you please let me have a try? You don’t need to pay me until you get sure that I can get it done. my email: littleknight23@163.com

[cui ruide]

any more recent ideas of rates? RMB/English word

[roddy]

Funnily enough I asked someone from an English language magazine here in Beijing a week or two back what freelance writing rates were - he reckoned RMB1 per word, as it was way back when.

Not sure for the reasons for the complete lack of upward movement, but I'd guess the constant stream of BLCU grads, TEFL teachers and general fortune-seekers willing to write for cash have something to do with it.

[Erbse]

There are places where $US 0.01 / word is the going rate, like on http://forums.digitalpoint.com/

The quality may be questionable however.

[SirDude]

I just started looking into Freelance work after I had some surgery late 2009. If you are an English speaker / writer in China, couldn't you just find an US or English company through the internet write for and get paid with a direct deposit or since you / anyone living in China needs to work for a chinese company?

Sorry for the lack of knowledge, I too am looking for work, but I'm not in China, I'm recovering at home in the US.

[simonlaing]

Hey Roddy,

I did a 1,000 + word article for an English / Chinese bilingual magazine (map magazine) and the pay was RMB.4/word) I offered to translate it or write a shorter chinese article but they opted for copying a chinese website's introduction about the topic.

I partly did it to have some clips and because I wanted the topic to get more publicity.

I also looked into being an editor but it pays less than teaching so I didn't take a pay cut to take the job.

I hope that helps.

Thanks,

Simon:)