Help me quick - how much should I charge?

[paganmolloy]

A pal wants me to write an article 4-6k words for a posh journal relating to his business. I'm quite good at writing but I have no idea how much to charge.

Just writing or writing and research? How long do you think it will take?
Charge him your usual day rate for the time it will take.

He has the bare bones of article based on a presentation but I would need to read it all and put it into an article that any lay person could read who is not a specialist in architecture. I'll have about a week to do it. I have never done this before but I have written many reports in previous job and also written a few articles for travel magazines. I don't want to do it really cheaply for him but neither do I want to take the piss overcharging him. It'll be a bit of a challenge for me but I'm looking forward to it.

Have you discussed a fee with him? When negotiating I always ask them to give a ballpark figure first.
I know what I’d be wanting for a job like this but it could be way off what you or he would expect.
Think about how much you’d expect to earn for a week’s work, then add a bit on (because it’s bound to be a bigger job than you expect).

I have no experiemce in this kind of work, but am self employed. I think I'd charge around £1,200, based on £200 per day for one week's work plus a bit extra.