As I talk to my mentees and circulate on the writing chat boards, I'm hearing a few themes repeat themselves over and over. They are themes of hopelessness and negativity about our current writing market. So today I'd like to explode four myths about the current economy for writers.

Myth #1: You can't get any new accounts right now. Heard frequently: "Everyone's getting 200 resumes when they post an ad, and I just don't stand a chance." It's just baloney. Personally, I've gotten several good corporate clients by answering online ads in the past few months.

For the most part they're paying very well, in the $.50-$1 a word neighborhood. People who're looking to move up from the $15-article ranks should know I turned down three freelance offers in the past month as they paid below my minimum rates -- one paid $70 an article, one $50, and another $40. Look at this Craigslist ad posted today for Web articles at $50-$150! So there are good move-up opportunities for people at the lower-pay levels, too.

2. Myth #2: There are no full-time writing jobs. While there may be fewer jobs than there are applicants, there most certainly are full-time job openings in writing. Let's take a virtual tour over to MediaBistro (8 FT jobs posted in the past week) and JournalismJobs.com (more than 20 FT jobs in the past 2 weeks).

Gorkana is another great place to look for full-time gigs -- I get an alert from them that usually has 30 or more full-time jobs listed each week, mostly in traditional media with a finance/Wall Street emphasis, but some Web writing, too. Also seeLinkedIn, where my job-catcher set on "writer/copywriter/reporter/blogger" has posted 15 full-time writing jobs in the past 2 weeks, in fields including healthcare, marketing, technical writing and Web content.

Myth #3: Rates are plummeting, and they'll never recover. Lots of discussion about this on the forums. Reality: not only aren't rates plummeting, in many sectors they are already rising again.

True, some magazines have cut their rates a bit, if ads are down. Some markets have gone kapoof. But many survivors continue to pay $.75-$1 a word. In general, my experience is that rates have stayed much as they were for both the magazine and copywriting work I do. On average, I haven't had to lower my hourly rates or per-word prices this year.

It's just that a whole new economy of low-priced Web content articles and blogs has been created that's grabbing all the attention. But there's already a light at the end of that low-pay tunnel -- see my previous blog More on 'The day the content mills died'. This market hit bottom early this year and is on the way back up, raising rates and adding perks.

Myth #4: Prospecting is hard, takes too long, and doesn't pay off. I have to ask: Are you really frightened of standing around an art gallery or bar with a drink and a snack in your hand, meeting new people and finding out about their freelance needs? It's not torture. I'll tell you a secret -- it's actually fun! You get out of your computer cave for once and meet people.

You can devote as much or as little time to prospecting and networking as you choose. Make it a half-hour a day on Twitter, send marketing InMails to targeted prospects on LinkedIn, go to a Biznik event every week...it's up to you. But do it...because it works!

One client I met at a live networking event pays $300 for articles that appear on AOL and Yahoo!, where my tagline is a live link to my Web site. Massive marketing exposure plus half-decent pay, for articles that are fairly easy to find sources for and write. Another I got through Twitter pays $750 for marketing case studies. Another prospect I'm still working on getting a first assignment from edits online content for a Fortune 50 corporation...an amazing connection I never would have made if I hadn't done in-person networking.

Would you invest a few hours a month in marketing to find clients that would increase your writing income by $20,000 a year or more? In my experience, that's an easily achievable goal.

To sum up, don't believe what you hear around chat boards where many posters are dabbling or just getting started. Things just aren't as bleak out there as they're made out to be. This was my best earning year ever, and I'm expecting to top it next year.

And ultimately, I find that's what it's about: expectations. What you expect of your career, you make happen. So be a mythbuster in '10 and find some good-paying writing assignments! They're out there.