Writing as a Career

For years we (my husband and I) have struggled to put food on the table, and while he has always been the mainstay, I have also tried to have something going on the sidelines.

For the most part I worked retail and that included the retail hours at the local home improvement store. I hated that job. Or maybe I didn't hate it exactly, it was just hard for me to enjoy it. I was attending school at the time (in my 40s) for my degree in Mass Communication, and I found myself studying for tests in between customers and letting my heart wander into overgrown writing paths.

Since starting school and having a job too, I'd done little writing for myself. The writing I did came from assignments that had to be done and often brought me little joy.

I have since discovered that writing as a career is an interesting thing. To really make it work you must be well known and the writing you do must be satisfactory or better. And in order to be well known and to have good writing, you must not only make time to write but you must know how to market or know someone who knows how to market for you--more money.

Photo by: Beat Machine, courtesy of Flickr

Though I can say now that the majority of my time is delegated to writing and marketing, this has not always been the case. Still, in my minds eye I could see myself living out my writing career dream.

My writing career really began that moment years ago when I was sick and pregnant and needed something to take my mind off of it. It continued as I raised my children, went back to school, and began my own writing services company.

The moment I began to take my writing seriously, the seed called "writing" planted itself in the ground and began to grow. I had some time in the beginning to pursue it, less time later to grow it, but as the plant has grown and I have been more focused on this dream, I have been given more opportunities to pursue it as a career.
You may have experienced this yourself or maybe you're struggling with kids, those dangling participles that keep hanging on your legs every time you sit down to write.



Photo by: eekoliteW, courtesy of Flickr

Believe me, I know how you feel. But don't give up. Continue to see your career in writing as a reality; work your way to it, sort of like climbing that mountain, eager to see the top. When you get there, call out to me, I am still working my way through the trees.