Copy writers - how much do I charge?

[whoopstheregoesmymerkin]

Ok so here's the background, was in magazines for many years, went freelance seven years ago and made a good living writing articles and editorial content.
However I was always commissioned, ie offered a job with a price, take it or leave it. I was based in London

Now I've gone all provincial and oop north and after a break having babies I have restyled myself as a copy writer - offering proof reading, content creation, ads etc.
Starting to get some work writing copy mainly for web sites, but what on earth do I charge? It's a whole different ball game price wise up here. Any ideas? Do I charge by the hour or wordage?
I am in the East of England and quite rural.

If anyone could help I would appreciate it!

If you are talking Manchester, rates are still pretty good, I used to PR freelance in London £250 a day, and in Manchester have done work for £100 a day upwards, bearing in mind have been out of the work loop for 5 years.

Look at the NUJ's rates, last time I looked, the average was 200 per 1000 words (online copy).

Pr and marketing freelance rates, in case you work through agencies
www.medianrecruit.co.uk/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.brbvikzqtqeomchq&pageId=262

I had the same problem, if you don't know what to charge, ask for word count and their budget... From experience don't price too low as I have been beaten down...

It really depends who you work for (size of business/brand)

I only charge by the word for proofing (and don't do much of that). It really depends on the scope of the job, type of client etc but my standard day rate is £350 and I'm based oop north.

Sorry to hijack, but how have you gone about getting work in this field? I'm in a similar boat but down south, was a mag journo, then freelance, but I'm struggling to get any copywriting/proofreading etc, or really know where to find it.

We are all struggling as there are heaps of people out there. I was 'found' through my website (I learned a bit of SEO and raised my ranking), plus I'm member of many online forums. There are also societies and professional organisations.