a lesson on negotiation...

About two weeks ago, I lined up a great copywriting gig with this super cool marketing company. But everything was pretty vague, much of it to-be-determined, and all of it ultra-confidential.

Finally, I got an email this morning saying that things were coming together, but I'd need to get the scoop on what was needed from me and come up with a project estimate by the end of the day. I knew it was coming, and I'm definitely ready to start writing, but I wasn't so sure about the whole negotiating-my-pay thing.

So I prepared to ask for a high figure and negotiate my way down, playing out the conversation in my head:

Me: This is what I was hoping for...
Her: As a recent grad, really??

I got a little nervous. Do people realize you're high-balling when you do something like that? Or will they actually just think you're greedy? I don't want to come off as greedy! But that's totally not what happened. Instead....

Me: So what is your normal pay range?
Her: Well, it depends on the project.
Me (confidently): So what if I ask for this much?
Her (after some consideration): You could probably ask for a bit more.

And that's when I did a happy dance. Inside, of course. The happy dance must always be kept inside.

Lesson learned: Confident individuals make more money. Simple as that. And who knows, maybe my skills are worth more than I'd have guessed!

Now to draft that estimate...