With writing there are no guarantees
Like life.
I was thinking today about how crazy it is to write as a source of income and for you know, surviving. And maybe even thriving. But, with writing there are no guarantees.
It’s madness. You plop your bum into a chair, let your fingers go tickity-tock over a keyboard and make the mush in your brain into words. You do the best you can. You hope that readers like it and that at the end of the day you’re pleased with your story, and might even make some additional income from it.
There are no guarantees that anyone will read your work, or buy it, or even like it. It’s a tough business and the competition is fierce. You can spend countless hours writing a novel and there may be little to no financial reward. It’s a total roll of the dice. I spent over 300 hours just writing the first draft of A New Light – Book 5 of The Age of Dawn.
It’s a tough thing to do. It’s something I grapple with while I write. Will anyone like this? Am I wasting my time? I could be making a hell of a lot more money if I spent more time getting better at trading stocks and options. Side note: I am having a lot more success in this arena and lately have been feeling a stronger pull towards it.
Who else but a lunatic would do something that has you toiling for months on a project that may in the long run net you nothing more than being better at writing, even then it’s a maybe. Sometimes I wonder if I’m regressing.
So why do I it? Well, one of my favorite aspects about writing is creating something new and putting my visions and ideas out into the world. Business wise, the idea of creating something once that continues to sell potentially forever is a nice prospect.
There are always new ideas rattling around in my skull, seeking escape. I give them that escape through my fingers. They have to be let out, nurtured and materialized. There are no guarantees in this business, but I don’t know what else I would do to give my ideas legs. So, I write.
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