This happens after payment, content and deadlines have been determined, after the the contract has been signed, and also after the client has provided me with his company’s accounting department information (I always get this info just in case they get fired before you get paid).

Then I will call the writing gig mine.

I do make a small exception for past clients. I’m talking to one right now about a series of books and during the conversation he told me about another stand alone. We agreed on a price for that one and I’ve plugged it into my earning plan for the year under “Probable.”

To pacify the kid in me that is always look for a reason to celebrate that spending plan also has a section called “Pure Speculation.” I rarely include anything there in a total of any sort, and if I do, I erase it pronto.