I think the problem is that I have a very limited market due to my location, though? If I demand decent pay for my work I may have no work at all. Supply and demand and all that?
I live in Canada and for the past four years the majority of my clients have been from outside the country!
Get online to industry-related job boards and search for 'remote', 'anywhere', or 'telecommute' opportunities, especially in places where the cost of living is higher than yours.
I would check out Github's job board, AuthenticsJobs.com , and te Smashing !agasine job board. not the most glamorous places but I have found work!
Good luck, and charge your full rate, you are worth full price :)
There's truth in it, but at the same time, we are in one of the most remote work friendly industries. Check out threads by https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=whoishiring and post there too (a while ago posted there, got a decent gig offered in a few days), you should be able to find something :)
I appreciate everyone's comments, but this doesn't help me with what I'm supposed to do tomorrow besides: "get a decent consulting gig."
Tomorrow you go in, and tell them that you want to get paid for the work you've done so far, and you want to get paid now.
If they start with any excuses, you simply get up and leave. Lesson learned (hopefully).
If they agree, you get paid, and then establish your pay rate going forward. I recommend charging a market rate (whatever a good software engineer will charge you in your country for similar type contract work).
Oh, and make sure you have a good looking portfolio (or github account).
So expand your demand market. You can work remotely, or simply travel to the clients. If they're paying you enough, no reason why you can't include travel costs, etc.
I can't really do travel. I work from home now and like it because of having a young daughter.
If I wanted to I could take contract work in Manchester and earn twice what I'm on now. But I don't want the 3 hour commute.
So you might say, "well that's your problem right there!" and I accept that. But I was thinking that I might be able to solve the problem I've specified without doing the obvious, "move to Manchester."
Good for you. These people aren't the ones who you'd like to work with anyway, very likely to be toxic clients.
>>> I've tried £50/hr, £40/hr, and now £20/hr
By lowering your requerements, you are attracting more slamming-the-phone clients. Stick to at the very least 50/hr (if I remember well, ~400/d is a common rate for contractors in North, e.g. Leeds). Raise it to 75/hr if you are not junior. It will take longer to get a gig, but it will pay off.
>>> This is in the NW of the UK
Damn, I miss Manchester :) sorry for getting carried away :)
>>> I'm likely not going to get paid anyway
Why wouldn't you? You are not a charity organization, you shouldn't be providing free work. You are providing a valuable service, so you should charge the appropriate rates. You don't owe anything to anyone.
Also, if you are willing to work cheap / for free, you will be treated poorly more often than not.
So raise your rates, be patient, don't let others take advantage of you and everything will be alright ;)