Thank you for sharing your a-ha moment. I enjoyed reading how comparing the two checks you received led to your moment when you knew, and followed through with (a hard part for me) increasing your rate because you knew your clients would pay it, and those that would not, like your challenging, low-paying client were not worth your time.

My upcoming a-ha moment post also came as a result of comparing checks, but there's a twist to my experience. I'm looking forward to sharing it soon!

It's been awesome to read other freelance writer's a-ha moments! I'm an introvert- by choice and largely necessity, but I feel having a network of talented freelance writers come together like this to share stories and advice is a key element we often miss when working alone. This month of a-ha moments feels like a combination of the best parts of writer's workshop, combined with a bit of after hours camaraderie!

Thank you again, Lori, for hosting and contributing to this month's posts. I'm looking forward to nodding my head in agreement while reading the many inspiring stories to come, just as I have with all the great stories so far!

Have a lovely weekend and Mother's Day to all the freelance writing mamas!

Best,
Tracy Spangler

I still can't believe you didn't get accepted. Their guidelines could have been written from your background! Do you need them? Probably not, since you've been making a damn fine career without the likes of them. Still, I get it. It's now the principle of the thing — they're clearly not following their own guidelines.

Maybe it's because I'm the baby of the family, but I'm used to being undervalued – my ideas were never good enough until one of my older siblings suggested the exact same thing. Then there's that friend of mine who dismisses every opinion or bit of advice I have, but months or years later shares her brilliant insights with me. I've gotten used to just saying, "Yeah. That's exactly what I said hours/days/months/years ago." That doesn't mean I don't see my own value. I just struggle at times to get others to see it. Sometimes the see it on their own.

Within the past week three editors from three different publications recognized the value of my contributions (maybe they read my posts about Writers Worth Month!), and the validation felt great. But the same week, a professional organization rejected me for a second time. I meet their membership criteria to a T. I haven't seen the list of newest members, but six months ago most new members were relatively inexperienced, some were part-time, un- or under-paid bloggers (I know, because I rejected no- or low-pay job offers from their "employers"). The mission statement clearly says the association is for professional writers earning a living by covering the industry.

My ah-ha moment from that? I'm overqualified. And they REALLY need to read their own mission statement! I don't need their twice yearly association events to land interviews. Sure, not being on their industry wide mailing list makes it harder for me to find leads early enough to pitch ideas before their members can, but I've been doing this longer – and better – than most of them could ever dream of.

Dava, so true. These moments continue throughout our careers, I think. I have them every now and then. It's a great thing to realize on an ongoing basis that our skills are worth something — usually more than we think.

Yo, well said. So true! You've just created my latest a-ha moment. 🙂