Somebody asked me about being a writer the other day, and I told them what I always tell everyone: I don't recommend it. The person replied that they know it's hard, but they don't expect to make any money from their writing anyway. It's a romantic notion, isn't it, to simply write for the love of writing? But long gone are the days when the noble artist could be sponsored by a wealthy patron, some sort of Duke or maybe even a King, and simply do their writing for the love of it. You can't eat words. So maybe it's not about the money, but it's still going to be about a whole lot of hard work. When you don't even get money for doing it, you're setting yourself up for a long, hard, uphill walk.
It's Not About the Money, Money, Money
If you're not into writing for the money, that's just swell. But you're going to have to be into something for the money, unless your last name is Vanderbilt and then this doesn't apply to you. But on the off chance that it's not and you're a pretty normal person, you're going to need some money. If you're not writing to get money then you're doing something else to get money and writing just for fun. And now, things are getting dicey.
You can't live without money, and I would know because I've explored the topic at length. I'm a strong advocate of simply doing away with the money and going back to a system of bartering, but I digress. The point is, you're going to have to do something to earn your daily bread. That cuts into writing time. Provided you also need to maintain a normal life and some sort of social world, you'll have less time to write.
When writing is a hobby, it can fall away. You have too little time to do it. You could end up with a bunch of unfinished books. Writing for the purposes of making money can add another layer of motivation to your favorite hobby and help you maintain that hunger that you're going to need to get through all those tough days. So don't expect to make a lot of money from your writing, because you won't. But do try to make some, because earning that first check is an amazing feeling. And once you earn a little, it's enough to quiet all those naysayers around you and may help to quell all the doubting voices in your own head. You can earn money off your writing, so give it a try and give yourself that extra level of motivation.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment