---
title: "Why I Don’t Take Freelance Writing Jobs Anymore"
date: 2009-03-19
description: "$( document ).ready(function() { // Handler for .ready() called. $("
canonical_url: https://idratherbewriting.com/2009/03/19/why-i-dont-take-freelance-writing-jobs-anymore/
---
# Why I Don’t Take Freelance Writing Jobs Anymore
- Talking with the client about the content he or she wants (30 min.)

- Researching the subject matter to better understand what you're writing about (1 hrs)

- Interviewing the client to determine the messages and target points they want you to cover (1 hr)

- Finding images to accompany the text (usually sample images that you're recommending be purchased) (30 min.)

- Writing the material (2 hrs)

- Revising the copy based on the client's edits (30 min)

It can take five hours just to write one page of content, and I didn't even mention SEO. If you're billing at $75 an hour, that one page can cost the client more than $400. Not many people are willing to pay $400 for one page of copy. I know if I paid $400, the writing better blow me away.

A lot of people have okay writing skills and can hack out the content they need anyway. Even if the copy isn't brilliant, it's often acceptable. This is where writing becomes a secondary skill, rather than a primary skill.  Because clients can do it (sort of), they're less inclined to pay others to do it.

In contrast, WordPress freelance jobs are a different story. Many people lack the technical skills to configure and design a custom WordPress site, so they can't fall back on their own "crummy CSS skills" or something. Most people don't know CSS or even understand FTP. They may try their hand at it, but when they open a WordPress theme file and see PHP, it all looks foreign, and they quickly realize they have no idea what they're doing.