Honestly, that whole conversation string about trying to sort out my business account was starting to bore even me. Summation: Stick to small, local banks. The end.

Today I’d like to draw your attention to an interesting article from BusinessWeek, Bloggers Bring in the Big Bucks. They also have a slide show featuring several “top bloggers” located here.

Now, when people ask me what I do, I invariably respond that I am a freelance writer. That’s definitely how I would characterize my work and how I see myself. But when people start asking specific questions, I end up “confessing” that I am mostly a professional blogger. I’d say that 80% - 90% of my day-to-day workload at this point is comprised of various blogging activities. That suits me just fine, but I’m often reluctant to break it down that way.

Reading the BusinessWeek article, I think I finally figured out why that is.

People seem to have this view of blogging as being one of three things.

Option 1: You are a hack. You write words nobody but your mother reads. You brag to anyone who will listen that you sometimes get upwards of one hundred hits a day, never realizing that that’s not exactly a big deal. You are proud of the $.85 you made off of AdWords last month.

Option 2: You write piecemeal for places like PayPerPost and make about $1/hour for writing stuff nobody actually reads.

Option 3: You are a superstar, known by everyone who’s ever touched a computer. You are Heather Armstrong or Jason Kottke and have turned a personal site into a money-making empire.

The BusinessWeek article is about people who fall squarely into Option 3. I don’t begrudge them that; those people are savvy entrepreneurs, self-made moguls who are perhaps the digital-age embodiment of the American Dream. Good for them, and—upon seeing their earnings disclosed in that article—I can certainly understand why people would be fascinated.

But the reality is that there are many, many folks making their living at Option 4. I’m one of them. It’s not nearly as sexy as Option 3, I guess, but for those of us who like to keep their work varied and make a modest living without dancing in the spotlight, it works.

What’s Option 4?

Option 4: You write a personal blog (or two) on which you earn some ad revenue. You also blog for regular pay on commercial sites. While none of these endeavors earn you enough to buy you a ticket to the high life, combined together you are earning a reasonable salary and an appropriate professional pay rate for your time.

I think I’m reluctant to tell people I’m a problogger because the elusive Option 4 isn’t what people picture. They picture the superstars and the hacks. I find I feel the need to defend myself (unnecessarily, I suppose), when actually I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I like what I do, and I love that the rise of blogging has made it easier than ever to be a working freelance writer. Long live Option 4!