*?@//**%!!!
feeling a little raked over just now. been trying to find some new grafix/illustration clients using advanced google search on craigslist. got a good response from what seemed to be a nice, professional-looking women-owned marketing/multimedia firm in OR. they wanted me to do a "trial" infographic for a law firm client for $75. i agreed... assumed it was a token fee to do a trial and see whether we were a good match. 12 or so hours of labor later i had finished the piece for them... a complicated depiction/ illustration/ explanation of certain abstract, complex legal agreements. they & client were happy with it. i was invited to become one of their steady freelancers.
only then did i ask about their regular pay rate, since i had been polite and held off inquiring about this till we finished the test piece. lady says, $75 is ACTUAL pay rate for any infographic they do... and ran down the list of flat pay fees for various things ($25 for flyer, $50 brochure, $25 biz card, etc). says they have to keep rates low to make it affordable to clients! ah yes — those poor lawyers!!! i understand we are in a recession, competitive mkts, etc, blah blah blah but this is just BOGUS, taking advantage of artists. maybe freelancers in indonesia would be happy doing the same work for $6/hr. – and more power to them. but if a US co. wants to hire adult, experienced people in the USA, they should not be paying sub-minimum wage. i am not a slow worker either; i am good at what i do, and pretty fast after all these years.
sorry... just had to vent. my own fault for not inquiring at the outset about future payscale. i will not do this again.
