Thinking of my freelancing as a business has certainly given me the confidence to not lower my rates when quoting on a project just because I fear the price is too high.

Now I tend to hit Send first and then freak out 😛

I was just talking to my sister today who hadn't realized I'd changed the look of my website and blog. She went through the copy and called me up to say 'I'm loving the new confident writer you.'

Ever since I started treating my freelancing as a business, everything just fell into place. My rates and terms & condition are on my blog. Clients know before contacting me how much they'll be paying me and how I work. Saves a LOT of time and trouble of hammering out the details only to have the deal fall through.

Paula – You're so right Paula! There are still days where I find myself doubting my abilities – especially when there's a new work I haven't attempted before.

Lori's Writers Worth Week has totally boosted my confidence!

Now instead of wallowing in self pity and worrying about not being good enough, I shoot questions to my client. This way I get the answers I need straight from the horse's mouth.

Kimberly – I worked for content mills for a year. Not only did it destroy my confidence but I had to deal with the stigma that comes from writing for low paying content mills.

Of course, at the end of the day, you gotta say to hell with it and get on with establishing your business 🙂 Glad you liked the post!

Wade – Exactly! Nobody else can write like you do. Your clients come to you because they want writing that only you can produce.

That's a priceless quality and we need to charge accordingly 🙂

Devon – One of the reasons I was never attracted to teaching was because of the low pay teachers seem to get world over. Heck, private tutions pay much more! Or private schools. Lol. Also, don't think I had the teaching spirit if I was swayed away from the profession because of the money 🙂

I hope you find a teaching job that pays what you're worth.

Therefore — find a new audience.

It's the transition that gets a little sticky sometimes.

Great post.

I like the way you emphasize the fact that freelancing must be treated as a business – this can't be overlooked.

Lori's Writers Worth Week(s)is so important because it lets writers like Samar remind us we're not merely writers, we're bloody good writers and we're valuable assets for our clients.

Okay, guys. Listen to Samar. Our mantra for the day is: We're bloody good writers!

I'm not sure why we feel we need to apologize for earning a living. We are not only bloody good writers, we also work bloody hard and deserve to be paid accordingly for our time and skills.

Great post, Samar.

To anyone interested in reading Neil Gaiman's interview of Stephen King, here's the link: http://bit.ly/KO5tCq