Writing, like so many other creative fields, does suffer from an overabundance of interested parties. For this reason, I’m frequently interacting with people who want “help” with writing or editing, but are then taken aback when asked what they will pay for it.
I don’t want to create conflict in any way, but the word help has a couple of different connotations: helping as in volunteerism, and helping as in willingness to be a part of a team. What are your best strategies for making it clear, from the beginning, that payment is expected for your work?