Been There, Done That

I was one of the authors at a multi-author even last week. It was a wonderful opportunity to speak about my books and writing in general. People came to the table, picked up literature about my books, and many shared stories about books they wanted to write… one day.

Then there was a woman who came over to the table which I shared with a fellow author and good friend. This woman looked around the room filled with authors and their books, and patrons, and shook her head. “I’ve been there and done that,” she said. “Never again. There’s no money in it.” She walked away looking very unhappy.

It was a very revealing thing she said about herself and one of the main reasons many wannabe writers fail. If you go into a field like writing for the wrong reasons, it is too easy to give it up – probably because you never really were a writer anyway.

There is nothing wrong with creativity and penning that story you just want to commit to paper, but BEING A WRITER is a business and there is hard work, long hours disappointments and plenty of emotional rewards. Unfortunately few writers make their living at writing alone. Most writers hold down full-time positions in non-related fields and make time to write in the off hours, they may wake early just to sit and write before work or stay up late at night to weave their stories. It’s only a very small percentage who really make exorbitant amounts of money, buy remote country estates and go there to write in solitude.

How do you know if you are a writer? A writer HAS to write, has to put words on paper. It doesn’t matter what subject you choose to write about, it doesn’t matter if you are writing fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose. You will pursue publishing companies and probably self-pubbing as well. You have to write, it is as much a need as breathing.

You have to call yourself a writer, have confidence in your talent, value your written word, and continually promote yourself; there will be a lot of critiques, rejections and a lot of hard work. If you can enjoy the total thrill of knowing that people are reading your words, that they are thinking because of what you wrote, and not lose that good feeling because your pay, if any, isn’t going to cover your mortgage this month. You cannot let yourself be swayed by a bad review or crushed by a rejection. Years ago I remember hearing one writer brag about turning her rejection letters into a wall paper in her writing room.

Writing is hard – but if you ARE a writer, for all of the right reasons, it is worth it. Now, start writing.



Writing Exercise: You are coaching a number of young students who want to be writers. You want to emphasize the work and you do not want to discourage them. Write an introduction for your class, at least one paragraph and no more than three.

Writing Prompt: How many words (1 word at a time) can you use to describe your emotion when you hear good news (such as selling an article to a magazine)? Write the words down. Do the same for words describing the amount of work necessary to promote your work. Finally list the words you would use to encourage someone to go forward evan after receiving a rejection.