If you use a bidding site or really any other method of finding an online writing job, sooner or later you are going to get a message from a potential client that says something to the effect “Congratulations, you have made it onto our short list!”.

This is kind of exciting, but you don’t have that job yet. What should you do in order to secure it? And more importantly, what shouldn’t you do? Here are some of my thoughts on some of the common proposals that a prospective client will sometimes make when it comes to negotiating the terms.

Writing a few samples

This is a very, very tricky situation, particularly for the new writer. If you look around at some other writing blogs and websites, you will probably see that the vast majority of writers discourage writing anything free of charge, particularly to land a job (Sharon Hurley Hall is particularly against this idea and has been ever since I started reading what she had to say about the business two years ago).

As usual, though, I find my practical ideas of business at odds with the ideal proposed by other writers.

While I haven’t written a sample article on spec in a long time, I am sure that doing so helped me land my first few online writing jobs. Again, I would go against the common advice in order to grow a business). Still, this won’t work for everyone, here are some quick points to consider before writing on spec:

• Don’t do it if they are asking for too many words. A spec article should only be around 350 words.
• Keep the article even if you don’t hear from the prospect ever again. Chances are you can use it as a sample and may even sell it on another project.
• Make sure that the spec article will count towards the total article number if you do land the job.

Negotiating Price

Another common theme for prospective clients who have you on a short list is the prices that you charge. I absolutely hate this, because I feel like for the most part all writers are underpaid anyway and no one should be asking them to work any cheaper.

Still, one of the problems of the business is stiff competition, and if a potential client sees your prices are higher than another bidder he or she will try and work you down a bit.

Again, your decision here will depend on where you are at with your career. If you have steady work lined up, there’s no need to dicker on your price and you can afford to be firm.

This doesn’t mean that you have to lose the job though; I have had several clients accept my price after I assure them of and proved, the quality of my work and my generally reliable timelines (unfortunately that has changed a bit since the third child, we are always sick or the computer is breaking or something).

The bottom line

As with so many decisions you will make in your attempt to find an online writing job, the decision about negotiating for that job will depend on where you are at as far as income and experience. New writers looking to break in often cannot afford the same lofty principles as those who have been doing it for a while, but taking some lumps in the beginning will mean that you can be more firm later on.