Stop calling yourself a Freelancer

Words don't just carry meaning. Words also carry implied meaning, AKA association. So, for example, what's the difference between a cashier and a concierge? In many ways, they both perform the same tasks, right? The cashier at the ice cream store takes your credit card and charges it, and the concierge at the Four Seasons takes your credit card and charges it. But the associations we have with each word are completely different. And I would bet if you had to tell everyone at Thanksgiving dinner about your new job and you'd way rather call yourself a concierge than a cashier. And so the same is true for every role or job in every industry. And when you call yourself a freelance writer, for example, those words carry associations. And the association that comes to mind for most people when they hear the term freelance writer is they imagine a 20 something year old sitting at a cafe churning out blog post after blog post about something like liposuction or hair removal, earning minimum wage. Whereas when you call yourself a ghostwriter, even if the work you're doing is identical to what you were doing as a freelancer freelance writer, the association changes. When founders or executives hear the word ghostwriter, they think of a specialist, so someone who works exclusively with their echelon of person. Which is why ghostwriters have a much easier time charging a premium.