You are more expensive than you think
Oh, hi friends!
Friends often ask me about setting rates for publications or projects.
(I love these conversations.)
Someone comes to them with an assignment or requests a quote.
And the friend will ask me, “What should I ask for?”
And in this context, I think what they’re asking is, “What is fair for the other person?”
But the real question is, “How much is this worth to me?”
Of course, it helps to know what a publication pays other people or what industry rates are, but your time is not equal to someone else’s time.
Your time is weighed against all of your other priorities and obligations and things you love. Your wants and needs. And how valuable you are to a project and how much value you’re getting from it, whether it’s prestige, knowledge, or a paycheck.
Your priorities can change all the time! One month doesn’t look like the next month.
But when you ask, “How much is this worth to me,” it’s always easier to find a number.
You might be afraid to say it.
But you know, better than anyone, how much you should get for what only you can give.
This tweet (and hearing about other friends going/planning to go back to school) gives me so much joy.
When the Cover Follows You Everywhere
They say it takes 5-7 times to see or hear about something before it sticks. Well, I saw this book everywhere until I finally Googled the title and read a summary. Then downloaded a 20-page “preview” on iBooks. Then bought the book at 2 a.m. because I couldn’t stop reading. So yes, that’s my way of saying The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is as engrossing and captivating and subtle and beautiful as everyone says!
The New York Public Library and WNYC chose it for their virtual book club, so if you’re a NYPL member you can download the e-book here, read a preview on Apple Books, or buy it wherever books are sold.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
You can also support my work by pre-ordering my motivational journal Do It For Yourself, coming out in the world on September 8.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara