Over on my writing blog, I posted:
I receive emails and IMs from writers every day, and I could answer 80 per cent of them with this sentence: “DO it — what have you got to lose?”
Whether you’re starting out as a writer, or are a pro, there’s no substitute for the experience you get from writing: it’s valuable, and is worth much more than any dollar amount you’re paid. So please, NEVER begrudge any writing you do; it’s always worth it for the experience. You’re growing as a writer. And you never know where your experience will lead you.
With my writing students, it’s obvious which students will do well: they plunge in, they’re eager for experience, and they’re prepared to take risks. Most of all, they enjoy the writing process — they can’t wait to get to the computer every day.
Essentially it boils down to this: do you like writing enough to do it for its own sake? If you do, I can guarantee this: you’ll succeed in your writing.
One writer friend wrote nine complete romance novels before she sold her first one. At 90,000 words each, that’s 810,000 words.
After five years, and almost one million words however, she said she was done with writing. She was ready to delete everything from her hard drive, and to recycle every manuscript she had.
After an argument with her spouse, she was just in the mood to reformat her hard drive, when the phone rang. It was an editor from a major publishing house. Within a week she had an agent who negotiated a multi-book contract for her. That contract was worth in the high six figures.
I asked her whether her long journey had been worth it. Would she do it again? She started to laugh, and then to cry…
Here’s what kept her at her keyboard: she loves to write.
If you enjoy writing, just keep writing. It’s all experience, and you never know where that experience will lead. You don’t need to know. Enjoy the journey: it leads you to YOUR success.
Fab Freelance Writing Ezine: Devoted to helping you to make money writing in 2010
Free: Write And Sell Your Writing — The Power Write Report 2010
Sell Your Writing Online NOW
Info Product Maestro: Make $500 a Day with Your Information Products
