First Hourly Project

[dj_bojana]

Hello Everyone,

I should start my first hourly contract with a client soon. I am a writer, I will write about a topic in my niche (marketing), however, I am wondering if I should include research hours into these working hours? Even though it is my niche, I will spend some time researching and browsing for ideas and content that can be linked in the article I am writing.

Any information from personal experience is more than welcome! Thank you 🙂 

[sonia_prashant]

Hey, congratulations of your first job 🙂

I would recommend you to discuss this out with client, because research will help you provide better content. Explain the client the need for it, number of hours you will need for the research and explain him about the content being meaningful. 

Hopefully the client will understand & you can go ahead providing quality content.

In my opinion it's awalys good to discuss your concerns.

Hope this helps.

Kudos!

[dj_bojana]

Hi Sonia,

Thank you! I had a few fixed priced jobs before, but this is the first time I decided to apply for an horly project since it was in my niche.

You are right, it's probably the best that I discus it with him. So far he's been very straightforward and responsive, and I believe talking to him will be the best solution.

Thank you for your advice! 🙂

[sonia_prashant]

Happy to help!

[researchediting]

Among the options you may want to discuss with your client is converting the job to fixed-price. This is fairly easy and obvious early on in discussions, and gets more complicated the further along you get in Upwork's process.

[dj_bojana]

Hi Douglas,

Thanks for the tip. I do prefer working on fixed-price projects, it seems much more convenient, as there are many variables to be taken into account when you are working on an hourly rate here. I will see what I can do about it.

Cheers!

[wendy_writes]

Bojana, as a writer I find it next to impossible to do hourly work.  I bid on and accept invites to both fixed and hourly jobs but always convert hourly to fixed.

There are some terrific and very successful writers who love hourly; one was even kind enough to 'tutor' me thru the process - but time tracker and I just don't mesh.

Michael's right > clients have no problem converting a job once you explain why and how it benefits them to do so.

[millermelanie]

I only write for fixed rates. I spend a lot of time composing in my head as I do housework, drive, grocery shop, lie awake in bed, stare at a blank screen, etc.  I explain to my clients that I don't think they really want to pay for all that at my hourly rate, and they readily agree! 

[dj_bojana]

Thank you both so much! (Melanie and Wendy)

We are still negotiating as there were some requirements in their contributor's manual that were not completely clear.  I will for sure try to move it to a fixed rate.

I agree that writing is a process, and paying hourly for my thinking while I was riding on a bus to work would not pay off to anyone.

[sachinvrg]

Dear Bojana D, 

Greetings, 

Let me try to answer your question. Usually, the writer charges for per word or per article as per length. But as you have your hourly project then you must charge as you mutually agree with the client. 

For an example, if you are writing one article of 500-700 words, it may take 2-3 hours or maybe more depending on the complexity of the topic. Which will include given points below:

• Writing
• Finding quotes, if necessary
• Editing
• Formatting
• Getting images (and editing them, if needed)
• Proofreading
• Reviewing my SEO checklist

So you should charge as hourly as per mutual agreement. 

Hope this answer is useful to you. 

Best Regards, 
Sachin Vairagi

[iacob_irina]

Hi there.

I guess you can tell each person and writer has a different way of working and writing. This also means that what works for a person may not work for another. 

You should also consider how long does it take you to write say 500 words - i can write this much in about an hour for instance. 

i currently got an hourly writing job [i'm a creative writer] and i include the research i need in the billed hours. why? i do most of my research online -for this particular job it's impossible to research offline. and i see it as part of the job. [for instance, a cashier is paid not only to make sure the customers pay for all the products in their baskets, but also to make sure she counts the money right. or when a business hires an accountant, that professional will get paid for all the time they spend analyzing the finances of the company, so on].