Oh I Wish I Were a Lawyer...

(to the tune of "I wish I were a rich man")

Why would I wish to be a lawyer? Is it the glamour? The money? The never ending student loans that have to be repaid?

Nope.

I was talking to a client today and mentioned that when writing for clients I don't charge for my "ruminating" time (currently ;-) since I am not actually writing even though it is an essential part of the process. Her comment was, "Why not? Lawyers do."

Wow. I want to get paid to think up myriad ideas, half of whom will be thrown out before the project is completed. I guess that's where *my* ethics come into play.

I don't charge for ruminating, the long walks I take with the dog while I piece an article together in my head (long before fingers hit a keyboard or a pen touches paper), the time I spend driving home from the grocery store reworking a phrase I'm not happy with in my head.

I *do* charge for actual topical research, like the time I spend finding industry-specific jokes for a client's newsletter (at their request).

Yea, I wish I was a lawyer. Or at least billed like one. Fortunately for my clients, though, I don't.