I’ll speak as someone who has been in the creative space for 20 years.

Non-“making” work is a large part of any creative job. Sometimes it can be the bulk of the time spent doing the work. A professional isn’t just making; they’re often researching, synthesizing, pitching, negotiating, documenting, formatting, etc. All of that stuff is just as important.

I would check in with a community of professional writers and bring specific examples. An example type of job, the vague topic, the word count, the time spent writing, the time spent formatting in their tool, etc.

They can help to identify the gaps and problem-solve around it. Is the client underpaying? If so, how do you avoid that in the future and/ or negotiate a higher rate now? Or, is the writer spending too much time writing? If so, what are some techniques to expedite the craft?