How much should you pay?

Writerfind reports a downward trend in payment rates for freelance writing and editing services. It seems some people consider these services to be a commodity that is so common, they can get them dirt cheap, or even free.

Suffice to say, you get what you pay for.

If you're wondering how much you ought to pay for the services you need, check out "How Much Should I Charge?," a comprehensive list of pay rates for marketing and corporate communications, scientific and technical writing/editing, email and Web copywriting, book publishing, and more. Rate ranges are compiled from a nationwide survey of WritersMarket readers. Here's a representative sample:

Email copywriting: $100 high/hour, $40 low/hour, $76 average/hour.
Ghostwriting: $113 high/hour, $25 low/hour, $67 average/hour; $100,000 high/project, $7,500 low/project, $37,091 average/project.
Technical writing: $160 high/hour, $68 low/hour, $84 average/hour.
Trade journal feature article: $200 high/hour, $40 low/hour, $122 average/hour; $3.34 high/word, 26¢ low/word, $1.03 average/word.
White papers: $125 high/hour, $50 low/hour, $89 average/hour.