That's almost never a helpful thing to ask people. It's probably better to actually look at other artists. Because the responses are your fans everybody is gonna say 'OMG just charge more'... when they have no intention of actually paying those prices. While the people who do want to actually get something are more likely to lowball you in the hopes of getting a deal. A price hike from last time is probably necessary just because inflation is trying to murder us, but at the same time finding actual buyers is also harder for the same reason.

If you have a price in mind that you did come to on your own and would feel comfortable with, that's the best price to charge.

Yeah. I shoulda figured that. I'd been looking at other writers, but I hate to sound kinda full of myself, but very few I have seen feel comparable to what I see as my level. I was doing $30 per k back when I was actively open, but prices have skyrocketed since then. I also am gonna ditch the 1k model since it limits my ability to work and the amount of words written is not directly related to the amount of time I spend on a project. The prep/planning is very similar for a singly chapter/short story.

You are better than most, but also 30 dollars per k actually already is higher than that 'most'. But yeah as a fellow writer I absolutely feel ya on the word limit not always reflecting the work

...I hate to sound kinda full of myself, but very few I have seen feel comparable to what I see as my level.
I don't think this is a particularly helpful way of thinking about it. The prices charged by freelance writers (and artists and others) don't reflect the raw quality of the work so much as the customer experience the writer is known to provide.

The authors who charge higher prices are (generally) those who've built a reputation for providing a high-quality customer experience with quick turnaround. Writing skill is certainly important, but I don't think it's a primary determinant of an author's prices. Two corollaries of this fact are:
i) One cannot compare two authors' "raw skill" to accurately predict whose commissions will sell for a higher price, and
ii) If an author's commissions don't command a high price, it likely reflects their reputation as a freelancer (or lack thereof), rather than their writing skill.

Yeah. I feel like I came off needlessly bitchy. I was very stressed out and kinda at my limit for a lot of reasons.

The point was that I feel like $20 for 1k words is way too low for a couple of reasons. I was trying to extrapolate how long it would take me to do a project, and I was trying to compare my workflow with other people based on what they charge. One of the people I was talking to made a comment roughly to the effect of "I can knock out a 2k fic in half an hour," and I was thinking to myself. It takes me waaayyy longer to write than that. Like, $40 for a half hour of work is fantastic, but there's no way I am finishing a 2k word story in like less than 4 hours. When I factor in drafting, writing, rewrites, and edits this is like a full afternoon of work. I'm basically looking at $20 an hour, which is a decent wage.

If you are going for it, I would be happy if I can get a spot! I’m so freaking sorry about your circumstances, though. Hugz from Iggy. Hope things get better!

yeah. send me a dm and we can hash out some deets.

I actually would like to comm you in october, i have a sexy tf & hypermasculinity, isekai story in mind, wjere i get transported to my favorite universe and get all my fursinas powers & stuff, but honestly, you probably do need to up your prices, 30 per k is nowhere near what you should be charging, modern freelance writers, earn at least 60$ per 500 words, last i checked, thats market value.

Yeah. I would love to get market value, but I don't expect that for emergency comms. TBH I had been doing a few under the table comms at $50/k but those were few and far between. Kinda like, I wouldn't even get off the couch for less than x because I didn't need the money, but I need to work something out quickly because I put the vet bills on my credit card and I want to zero it out before I get interest.

noted, well in future when i come up with a hot idea i can't figure out how to write i'll give you market rate, saves me from dealing with my writers block XD, most of my stories are d&d or elder scrolls based, i'd love fpr you to design some of my personal d&d settings thematics, that is worth market rate for sure, in october i'll have 600$ for you