--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The free-lance writer is one who is paid…" description: "\"“The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.”\" — Robert Benchley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg" --- # The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per… ![“The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.” quote by Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg) > ““The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.”” [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freelance writers are compensated per output, highlighting the transactional nature of their work. **In simple terms:** Pay is per piece. Key Takeaway Know your value and negotiate. Themes work economics freelance Mood pragmatic analytical Type advice informative When to use this quote - contract negotiations - budget planning - career development Key Concepts pricing labor market creative independence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance output and craft? - What rates reflect your skill? A Different Perspective Focus on quantity can undermine quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free Lance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-lance-881496/) [Lance Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lance-writer-881495/) [On-writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/on-writing/) [Paid Piece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid-piece-596298/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-paid-596297/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The free-lance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-a-man-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The free-lance writer is the person who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-the-person-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“The freelance writer is one who is paid per piece, or per word, or perhaps.” – Peter Benchley”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-boutros/the-freelance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/) [Gabriel Boutros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-boutros/) > [The freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-freelance-writer-is-a-man-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“A freelance writer is paid per word, per piece, perhaps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/a-freelance-writer-is-paid-per-word-per-piece-perhaps/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [I started working in London, and I've been free-lance ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllida-lloyd/i-started-working-in-london-and-i-ve-been-free-lance-ever-since/) [Phyllida Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllida-lloyd/) > [“The word 'free-lance', I used to think, had a romantic ring; but sadly discovered, when I tried to be one, that its practice has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-macinnes/the-word-free-lance-i-used-to-think-had-a-romantic-ring-but-sadly/) [Colin MacInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-macinnes/) > [I like the desperado aspect of essays, the free lance, that mercenary kind of thing, so I just do it, without asking anyone's permission.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-d-ambrosio/i-like-the-desperado-aspect-of-essays-the-free-lance-that-mercenary/) [Charles D'Ambrosio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-d-ambrosio/) > [“We need good titles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/we-need-good-titles/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Write to your fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/write-to-your-fear/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Stories. 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Engelhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-m-engelhardt/) > [“A novel rough draft is like bread dough; you need to beat the crap out of it for it to rise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-baty/a-novel-rough-draft-is-like-bread-dough-you-need-to-beat-the-crap-out/) [Chris Baty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-baty/) > [“Focus on writing first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyra-parish/focus-on-writing-first/) [Lyra Parish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyra-parish/) ## More by Robert Benchley > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [You might think that after thousands of years of coming up too soon and getting frozen, the crocus family would have had a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/you-might-think-that-after-thousands-of-years-of-coming-up-too-soon/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/it-took-me-fifteen-years-to-discover-i-had-no-talent-for-writing-but/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But ice-crunching and loud gum-chewing, together with drumming on tables, and whistling the same tune 70 times in succession, because they indicate an indifference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/but-ice-crunching-and-loud-gum-chewing-together-with-drumming-on/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life whichdoes not include…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-naturalistic-literature-of-this-country-has-reached-such-a-state/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [There is no such place as Budapest. Perhaps you are thinking of Bucharest, and there is no such place as Bucharest, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-is-no-such-place-as-budapest-perhaps-you-are-thinking-of/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [I am both a public and a private school boy myself, having always changed schools just as the class in English in the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-am-both-a-public-and-a-private-school-boy-myself-having-always/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/anyone-can-do-any-amount-of-work-provided-it-isn-t-the-work-he-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [After an author has been dead for some time, it becomes increasingly difficult for his publishers to get out a new book by him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/after-an-author-has-been-dead-for-some-time-it-becomes-increasingly/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [One of the chief duties of the fan is to engage in arguments with the man behind him. This department of the game has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/one-of-the-chief-duties-of-the-fan-is-to-engage-in-arguments-with-the/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who do not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-divide-the-world/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/why-don-t-you-get-out-of-that-wet-coat-and-into-a-dry-martini/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with that it's compounding a felony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/drinking-makes-such-fools-of-people-and-people-are-such-fools-to/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Behind every argument is someone's ignorance. 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Engelhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-m-engelhardt/) > [“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemingway-ernest-2/the-most-essential-gift-for-a-good-writer-is-a-built-in-shockproof/) [Hemingway, Ernest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemingway-ernest-2/) > [“Stories. Character. Dialouge. Entire worlds created on the page. Worlds that could sweep you away or frighten you, make you laugh or cry. 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And look deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/in-the-deepest-hour-of-the-night-confess-to-yourself-that-you-would/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“My writing, it’s my way of making sense of everything. My way to feel whole. May I never be complete and may I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/my-writing-it-s-my-way-of-making-sense-of-everything-my-way-to-feel/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [“You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so. It’s hard for me to believe that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/you-have-to-read-widely-constantly-refining-and-redefining-your-own/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Fiction should be in its way subversive. I don't think books should be neat or gentle or genteel or comforting. I think they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/fiction-should-be-in-its-way-subversive-i-don-t-think-books-should-be/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“The pain in my hip was just short of apocalyptic. And the first five hundred words were uniquely terrifying—it was as if I’d never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-pain-in-my-hip-was-just-short-of-apocalyptic-and-the-first-five/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The truth is that most writers are needy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-truth-is-that-most-writers-are-needy/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“When I'm writing, really writing, everything but breathing is an ignorable distraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-r-miller/when-i-m-writing-really-writing-everything-but-breathing-is-an/) [Dennis R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-r-miller/) [Browse all 90 On-writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/on-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Benchley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "On-writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/001/robert-benchley-2562_on-writing_the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid_1673203.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The free-lance writer is one who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps.” — Robert Benchley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Benchley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The free-lance writer is one who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-free-lance-writer-is-one-who-is-paid-per-piece-or-per-word-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```