Do freelance writers get days off?
Us freelancers get days off whenever we want. The trick is, you aren’t quite asking the right question.
Do Freelancers Get Paid Days Off?
This is closer to what most people seem to want to know. The question is kind of a tricky one, since our pay isn’t traditional.
When you work as a freelancer writer there are many ways to charge for your freelance work.
Freelance Per Hour
One way is to charge by the hour. In this arrangement, you and the client agree to a per hour amount that you will charge for work. Then, you keep careful track of the time you spend working on that freelance project so you can correctly bill the client for the number of hours worked.
Under this arrangement, you would not get paid for days off, but…
Freelancer Getting Paid Per Project
Alternatively, freelancers and clients can agree to an amount to pay based on the project, or phase of the project. In this way, the freelancer gets paid based on the final deliverable, not based on how long it takes to deliver the final project.
Under this arrangement, having a day off is irrelevant, assuming the project can be completed satisfactorily by the agreed deadline. So, no paid day off, but…
Freelance Writer Paid Per Word
A very common arrangement for paying freelance writers is to pay per word. The nice thing about being a freelancer getting paid per word is that the compensation is somewhat tied to the amount of time required to produce a particular piece of content, or other writing. Obviously, shorter articles on more complex topics can take longer to write than long articles on simpler topics. However, one would assume a good arrangement between freelance writer and client would include a higher per word rate for complex writing requiring more research than for less complicated writing.
Under this arrangement, the writer only gets paid when they write, so no paid days off for the freelance writer here either but…
But…
A savvy freelancer builds in expenses and other costs to the arrangement with the client. When asking for $40 per hour, for example, the freelancer understands that there are some supplies, services, and equipment that may be required to deliver the final product. The $40 per hour, would necessarily include such costs, as would a per project amount, or a per word billing arrangement.
Which means… the freelancer’s overall time and effort always includes additional expenses required to run a small business, so…
Yes. Freelancers get paid days off. — They are just built into the overall cost of doing business.
Deadlines for Freelancers
All of this is moot when there are deadlines. If a project is due, it’s due. So if you have to work on that holiday, or vacation day to get the work done by the deadline, there is no paid day off.
This is why deciding how much to charge, and setting deadlines is so much more complicated than it seems. I still use two journals, a big paper calendar, a publishing calendar, and the Google calendar to work out project details and deadlines with a client. Even then, I end up missing things and forgetting that the kids are off of school for a teacher in-service day on that Tuesday when the big project is due Wednesday.
Fortunately, I have a good relationship with my clients, and most of them would be happy to wait until Thursday, if I communicate with them ahead of time.