[belmarca]

Hey Steve, I don't have a book recommendation but rather some short advice.

  - Don't expect your client to understand the work you do the way you understand it.

  - A corollary is that you cannot expect the client to put the same price on your work as you would or want.

  - Another corollary is that you will inevitably lose some bids.

  - Value-based pricing has been way simpler to deal with for me.

  - Hourly pay only for a retainer or a fixed amount of hours per month ("I'll be there when you call."). Otherwise I find that incentives get misaligned.

  - Requirements and client desires can change every single time you speak to them, so communicate often. I've been lucky with inflating time estimates by 25-33% to account for this inevitability.