Rewriting same content multiple times: should I charge more?

[caesar_english]

I’m mainly a content writer, but sometimes I also have buyers asking to rewrite something they already have. In particular, I have a couple of clients who ask me to rewrite the same piece in 3 or 4 different ways.

Now, of course if I rewrite 1000 words in 3 different ways, they pay me for 3000 words like it would be for 3 different articles.

However, I noticed that I have a harder time rewriting the same thing a second, third or fourth time, because since my buyer want a 100% original article that still keeps the same meaning, structure, names and places, sometimes I just run out of ways or synonyms and I break my brain to come up with something new.

Lately I’ve been wondering: would it be right to charge an extra when I have to rewrite the same thing in more than one way?

I’m not sure it would be the right thing to do because I’m still working on the same piece and I guess the buyer thinks it should be easier, but when I’m struggling I happen to think ‘ah, this is really not worth the time I spend on it’. Still, I’m unsure and I want to seek the opinion of people who have more experience than me in rewriting content.

I hope this doesn’t sound like a stupid topic and if it is, I apologize. I would gladly accept advice though 😁

[visualstudios]

While I understand your point, I think that may be a very hard sell. I would just refuse in that case.

[caesar_english]

While I understand your point, I think that may be a very hard sell. I would just refuse in that case.

I’m here to hear opinions because I’m debating over the same issues as you mentioned, so thank you for replying :cowboy_hat_face: The thing is, I still feel like I waste way more time on the following rewrites. Say I spend 5 minutes on the first one, it becomes 10 on the second one, 15 on the third one (and it’s usually not minutes, but hours) but I get paid the same amount, so I’m not sure if it’s still a job worth doing in this same manner :thinking:

[helenabester]

I’m here to hear opinions because I’m debating over the same issues as you mentioned, so thank you for replying :cowboy_hat_face: The thing is, I still feel like I waste way more time on the following rewrites. Say I spend 5 minutes on the first one, it becomes 10 on the second one, 15 on the third one (and it’s usually not minutes, but hours) but I get paid the same amount, so I’m not sure if it’s still a job worth doing in this same manner :thinking:

I think you should charge more. It is your time after all! It depends on how badly you want the work, I suppose. The buyer can easily refuse to pay more.

[visualstudios]

I’m here to hear opinions because I’m debating over the same issues as you mentioned, so thank you for replying :cowboy_hat_face: The thing is, I still feel like I waste way more time on the following rewrites. Say I spend 5 minutes on the first one, it becomes 10 on the second one, 15 on the third one (and it’s usually not minutes, but hours) but I get paid the same amount, so I’m not sure if it’s still a job worth doing in this same manner :thinking:

Yeah, I get that it takes more time. Problem is, buyers won’t see it that way. It will be very hard to convince them to pay more for it. So what I think will happen 90% of the time is you’ll propose a higher price, client will refuse, and you’ll refuse to do it. Might as well skip that extra step.

[caesar_english]

I think you should charge more. It is your time after all! It depends on how badly you want the work, I suppose. The buyer can easily refuse to pay more.

I think you should charge more. It is your time after all! It depends on how badly you want the work, I suppose. The buyer can easily refuse to pay more.

You’re right, but I have some steady collaboration with a few of these people and at the beginning we established a sort of price list since they always ask for the same kind of service, so I would feel like I’m going back on my words if I suddenly raised the prices since they’ve been doing what they always do aka sending me stuff to rewrite (though in the beginning I just had to rewrite 1 thing in 1 way). And I guess there’s also the ‘wanting work badly’ factor too, because it’s a steady income 🤯

Yeah, I get that it takes more time. Problem is, buyers won’t see it that way. It will be very hard to convince them to pay more for it. So what I think will happen 90% of the time is you’ll propose a higher price, client will refuse, and you’ll refuse to do it. Might as well skip that extra step.

I guess I’ll keep doing what I’ve done so far and if I see that it gets too problematic or time-consuming, I’ll have to talk to them about it 😢

[filomena_silva]

I’m mainly a content writer, but sometimes I also have buyers asking to rewrite something they already have. In particular, I have a couple of clients who ask me to rewrite the same piece in 3 or 4 different ways.

Now, of course if I rewrite 1000 words in 3 different ways, they pay me for 3000 words like it would be for 3 different articles.

However, I noticed that I have a harder time rewriting the same thing a second, third or fourth time, because since my buyer want a 100% original article that still keeps the same meaning, structure, names and places, sometimes I just run out of ways or synonyms and I break my brain to come up with something new.

Lately I’ve been wondering: would it be right to charge an extra when I have to rewrite the same thing in more than one way?

I’m not sure it would be the right thing to do because I’m still working on the same piece and I guess the buyer thinks it should be easier, but when I’m struggling I happen to think ‘ah, this is really not worth the time I spend on it’. Still, I’m unsure and I want to seek the opinion of people who have more experience than me in rewriting content.

I hope this doesn’t sound like a stupid topic and if it is, I apologize. I would gladly accept advice though 😁

Would it be right to charge an extra when I have to rewrite the same thing in more than one way?

Hi there,

I’m also a content producer and I would definitely charge 3000 words if a client asked me to rewrite 3 times the same article of 1000 words if different ways. You are having the triple of work. And everytime that you rewrite again it’s even more difficult to do it. It’s not a question of “would be right to charge” but instead of it “is it fair for you to waist your time and not be paid properly”? Of course that this is just my opinion and the last decision must be yours, but that seems pretty fair to me.

You can, for example, keep the same prices for your returning customers and charge in a different way to the new ones. Or, you can analyse if those colaborations that you have are really worth your time and effort or not and make a decision to raise your prices to everyone.

[visualstudios]

Would it be right to charge an extra when I have to rewrite the same thing in more than one way?

Hi there,

I’m also a content producer and I would definitely charge 3000 words if a client asked me to rewrite 3 times the same article of 1000 words if different ways. You are having the triple of work. And everytime that you rewrite again it’s even more difficult to do it. It’s not a question of “would be right to charge” but instead of it “is it fair for you to waist your time and not be paid properly”? Of course that this is just my opinion and the last decision must be yours, but that seems pretty fair to me.

You can, for example, keep the same prices for your returning customers and charge in a different way to the new ones. Or, you can analyse if those colaborations that you have are really worth your time and effort or not and make a decision to raise your prices to everyone.

That’s not the question, though.

She already charges for 3000 words for writing a 1000 word article 3 times. What she means is she wants to charge more than 3000 words because the second and third re-writes are more difficult than the first. She is not doing triple the work, she’s doing more than that.

And while it makes sense (the second and third versions will force her to work extra to avoid repetition), it will be a very hard sell.

[filomena_silva]

That’s not the question, though.

She already charges for 3000 words for writing a 1000 word article 3 times. What she means is she wants to charge more than 3000 words because the second and third re-writes are more difficult than the first. She is not doing triple the work, she’s doing more than that.

And while it makes sense (the second and third versions will force her to work extra to avoid repetition), it will be a very hard sell.

She already charges for 3000 words for writing a 1000 word article 3 times. What she means is she wants to charge more than 3000 words because the second and third re-writes are more difficult than the first. She is not doing triple the work, she’s doing more than that.

I totally understand your point of view. I misunderstood. You are right.

[cyaxrex]

I’m mainly a content writer, but sometimes I also have buyers asking to rewrite something they already have. In particular, I have a couple of clients who ask me to rewrite the same piece in 3 or 4 different ways.

Now, of course if I rewrite 1000 words in 3 different ways, they pay me for 3000 words like it would be for 3 different articles.

However, I noticed that I have a harder time rewriting the same thing a second, third or fourth time, because since my buyer want a 100% original article that still keeps the same meaning, structure, names and places, sometimes I just run out of ways or synonyms and I break my brain to come up with something new.

Lately I’ve been wondering: would it be right to charge an extra when I have to rewrite the same thing in more than one way?

I’m not sure it would be the right thing to do because I’m still working on the same piece and I guess the buyer thinks it should be easier, but when I’m struggling I happen to think ‘ah, this is really not worth the time I spend on it’. Still, I’m unsure and I want to seek the opinion of people who have more experience than me in rewriting content.

I hope this doesn’t sound like a stupid topic and if it is, I apologize. I would gladly accept advice though 😁

However, I noticed that I have a harder time rewriting the same thing a second, third or fourth time, because since my buyer want a 100% original article that still keeps the same meaning, structure, names and places, sometimes I just run out of ways or synonyms and I break my brain to come up with something new.

You might want to try rewriting all three articles at once. I have a buyer who asks me to do this, and I too run out of creative steam. However. if I write all three articles at once section by section. (By opening 3 word tabs and writing a bit of each before doing the same on the next one.) I can get through it easier.

That said, I usually try to avoid projects like this.

You can try charging more, but like @visualstudios says, it will be a hard sell.

[caesar_english]

However, I noticed that I have a harder time rewriting the same thing a second, third or fourth time, because since my buyer want a 100% original article that still keeps the same meaning, structure, names and places, sometimes I just run out of ways or synonyms and I break my brain to come up with something new.

You might want to try rewriting all three articles at once. I have a buyer who asks me to do this, and I too run out of creative steam. However. if I write all three articles at once section by section. (By opening 3 word tabs and writing a bit of each before doing the same on the next one.) I can get through it easier.

That said, I usually try to avoid projects like this.

You can try charging more, but like @visualstudios says, it will be a hard sell.

You might want to try rewriting all three articles at once. I have a buyer who asks me to do this, and I too run out of creative steam. However. if I write all three articles at once section by section. (By opening 3 word tabs and writing a bit of each before doing the same on the next one.) I can get through it easier.

That’s an interesting method. At this point, I’m willing to try anything, my brain is already fried! Thank you ☺️

[visualstudios]

You might want to try rewriting all three articles at once. I have a buyer who asks me to do this, and I too run out of creative steam. However. if I write all three articles at once section by section. (By opening 3 word tabs and writing a bit of each before doing the same on the next one.) I can get through it easier.

That’s an interesting method. At this point, I’m willing to try anything, my brain is already fried! Thank you ☺️

Just do like Joey and run the article through a thesaurus lol

[caesar_english]

Just do like Joey and run the article through a thesaurus lol

Is there really any decent automatic word processor for this? 😂

[visualstudios]

Is there really any decent automatic word processor for this? 😂

(/s but not really xD)

[caesar_english]

On Mac OS you can click any word on any app and bring up the dictionary/thesaurus. On Windows, you can suffer because you are using windows 😦

(/s but not really xD)

Ahh I thought you meant some program where you just paste a big chunk of text and it just changes everything at once. Too easy! :’)

[humanissocial]

I think you should charge more. It is your time after all! It depends on how badly you want the work, I suppose. The buyer can easily refuse to pay more.

You’re right, but I have some steady collaboration with a few of these people and at the beginning we established a sort of price list since they always ask for the same kind of service, so I would feel like I’m going back on my words if I suddenly raised the prices since they’ve been doing what they always do aka sending me stuff to rewrite (though in the beginning I just had to rewrite 1 thing in 1 way). And I guess there’s also the ‘wanting work badly’ factor too, because it’s a steady income 🤯

Yeah, I get that it takes more time. Problem is, buyers won’t see it that way. It will be very hard to convince them to pay more for it. So what I think will happen 90% of the time is you’ll propose a higher price, client will refuse, and you’ll refuse to do it. Might as well skip that extra step.

I guess I’ll keep doing what I’ve done so far and if I see that it gets too problematic or time-consuming, I’ll have to talk to them about it 😢

It’s okay to go back on your words if it isn’t an existing contract yet.

Sometimes we don’t fully know the scope and complexities involved until we dive in. Good clients get that.

[caesar_english]

It’s okay to go back on your words if it isn’t an existing contract yet.

Sometimes we don’t fully know the scope and complexities involved until we dive in. Good clients get that.

I will seriously consider how to move in this mine field from now on. I try to see the positive side as in: I can learn something from every experience.

[helenabester]

I will seriously consider how to move in this mine field from now on. I try to see the positive side as in: I can learn something from every experience.

A buyer will sometimes surprise you! I’ve recently ‘changed’ a $150 order into a $1000 one, just because I very friendly and politely told the buyer how I saw the scope of his project. He agreed! It doesn’t happen much, but it is possible.

I think if you write the buyer an amicable note, explaining the matter as you did to us, you might be able to squeeze out a few more bucks for the second and third rewrite. If they are happy with your work, they might not need the hassle of trying to get someone else to do the job. It might be worth a try!

[caesar_english]

A buyer will sometimes surprise you! I’ve recently ‘changed’ a $150 order into a $1000 one, just because I very friendly and politely told the buyer how I saw the scope of his project. He agreed! It doesn’t happen much, but it is possible.

I think if you write the buyer an amicable note, explaining the matter as you did to us, you might be able to squeeze out a few more bucks for the second and third rewrite. If they are happy with your work, they might not need the hassle of trying to get someone else to do the job. It might be worth a try!

Wow! That’s a big difference! Thank you, I will keep your story in mind 😊