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     I absolutely love the articles I find on lifehacker.com.  They provide great, useful information for everyone.  The best part of these articles is that they offer advice, tips and tricks in layman’s terms so they can be understood by anyone from a novice to a professional.  One such article by James Altucher focuses on how he makes his living writing and how anyone can do the same.  


     I’m not going to just regurgitate the article for you here, so click on the link above to check it out for yourself.  The advice is actually rather simple and Altucher not only tells you what you can do, but offers examples of how he does them.  In a nutshell, here is how you can make a living writing:

  1. You Are a Writer
  2. Read a Ton of Stuff 
  3. Get Rid of Prejudice
  4. Self-Publishing is not E-Books
  5. Bookstores are Evil
  6. Platform is Shit
  7. Blog
  8. Write Everyday
  9. Rewrite Everyday
  10. Can I Make Money Writing Articles?
  11. Write A Lot of Books
     Some of these things are a bit obvious and you will hear them time and time again.  Others may seem a bit contradictory, but that goes to point number 3.  Many of us have preconceived ideas of what it means to be a writer, but the industry has changed and is still changing, so we need to learn to change with it.

     The key to making a living as a writer seems to be volume.  The more you write, the more chance you have of making money and selling your work.  That seems like common sense right?  But many of us have been seduced by the success of authors like EL James and Stephanie Meyers who made it big off the success of a first book or series.  Not everyone will have that same success and so we need to write, write, write… 

     We also need to keep in mind that not everything we write will be written with the intention of publishing and selling.  Like any other art form, the way to improve your writing is to practice.  The more you write, the better you will get.  On days where you don’t seem to be inspired, write anything that comes to mind.  In Altucher’s example, he wrote 1500 words about bowel movements.  No, it was not for a medical journal or other such publication, it was simply because that is what came to mind and so that is what he wrote about.  

     Most of us think that if what we are writing is not awe inspiring, then it isn’t worth writing, but in truth, writing anything is better than not writing anything.  And the more you write, the better your chances of earning money doing what you love.
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     Last week, I shared with you what my absolute dream job would be.  Since my dream of becoming a musician is unrealistic and unattainable, I thought long and hard about what I would love to be doing for a living, that I could actually do.  What would I like to spend my days doing that would make earning a living enjoyable?  

Living the Dream


     The answer, being a writer.  If I could spend my days creating stories, poems and novels that people can connect with, I would be a happy person.  I’d be free to always be me and people would chalk up any eccentricities to my being a writer, because writers are, by nature, quirky.  Or, at least, that is the general consensus.

     I imagine what my life would be like as a writer.  My mornings would be spent sending my kids off to school before I grabbed a cup of coffee and then sat down at my desk, surrounded by books, and set to work.  Hours would fly by as I wrote or researched or got lost catching up on my social media (because let’s be honest, you can’t ever just sign on for five minutes).  Then my kids would come home from school and I’d spend time making them snacks and finding out what they did that day.  I’d try to get in a few more hours of writing before it would be time to make dinner.  

     Some days, when the sun is shining and there is a nice warm breeze, I’d head outside to write while soaking up some sun.  I’d be able to chaperone school trips or catch all the recitals (both of my kids play violin) and plays that I currently miss out on due to my demanding work schedule.  I’d take walks to clear my head when I have a bout of writer’s block, stopping to smell the roses and take pictures that I always intend to take but never have the chance to right now.  I’d finally get to travel to all the places I’ve wanted to see, but never had the time, as I travel to various book stores while doing a tour.

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     Sometimes, I even go so far as to imagine myself in a smoking jacket and ascot (weird since I’m a woman) with a tumbler of scotch or brandy in my hand, sitting or standing in front of a fireplace, mulling over a few ideas for my next book.  Or perhaps hobnobbing with other writers at various book release parties, discussing the trials and tribulations of life as a writer.  I think that perhaps this might be my alter ego and if I can come up with a name for this stuffy, upper crust, male version of myself, then I would have found my pen name.

     Maybe the reality of being a writer will be nothing at all like I imagine it, but simply doing something that I enjoy would make it far better than any other career options I currently have available to me.  Being able to set my own schedule and create a routine would offer me the flexibility to enjoy life before it passes me by while helping me focus more on my writing.  

     Right now, it seems that my ideas come to me at the most inopportune times, while in the middle of program testing for our new accounting system or reviewing financial statements and I can’t stop to jot down the notes because, well, that would be frowned upon.  By the time I have some “free time” to actually do my writing, I am physically and mentally drained.  Even writing this blog takes longer than it used to because in the middle of writing it, I start dozing off.  And yet, I haven’t stopped trying, haven’t put down my pen or shut off my computer because writing has become a part of me and without it, I’d be lost.

     Writing is like therapy for me.  Through all of the stresses of life, whatever crazy roller coaster ride of emotions I am on, I become grounded through my writing.  I purge my emotions onto the page, into the characters and the story or poem, giving them a depth that would otherwise be lacking.  I know that it will not always feel like a joy, there are times when it can feel like work, but if I could escape to a world of my imagining for hours on end and get paid for it, that would truly be a dream come true.  

Image courtesy of Writing Humour

     Everyone has their own reasons for writing.  Some people use writing as a way to purge their minds of all the thoughts constantly running through their heads.  Some do it to fight for a cause.  And some are in it strictly for the money.

     The Ugly Side of Writing offers a look at the six types of writers and the famous authors that fall into these categories.  One person can fall into multiple categories.  I, myself, feel that I fall into “The Weird Recluse” category.  That’s not to say that I think I am a literary genius, but this is the one that I can actually identify with; locking myself away and writing in seclusion is how I work best.


     I envy “The Space Cadet”, the writer that can journey into a fantastical world and transport their readers there along with them.  My own writing is so grounded in reality that I find it difficult to create completely new worlds or languages.    How I would love to create something as wonderfully, magical as The Princess Bride or something out of this world like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but I just don’t think I have that in me.

   While it would be nice to be able to make a living doing something that I enjoy, I know that I could never be “The Greasy Palm”.  Despite the fact that I spend my days earning a living by working in finance, it is not something that motivates me to write.  I’m not a networker, people person or schmoozer.

     “The Ray of Sunshine”, seems to me, to be a mix of “The Space Cadet” and “The Greasy Palm”; a perfect balance of creativity and business.  This is the marketable writer, the one that can deliver not only on the writing, but on the business of writing.

     “The Angry Young Man/Woman” is passionate.  They find something they believe in and use the written word to fight for that belief.  Like me, their writing is based in reality.  The reason I don’t believe I fit into this category is that my writing is not trying to create awareness of a cause.  I am not trying to open anyone’s eyes to the world around them.  In fact, I try to do the opposite.  I try to offer a world that the reader can escape to, however non fantastical it may be.

     “The Bitter Failure” can likely start out in any of the other categories.  Writing takes perseverance.  There will be many more no’s than yeses along the way and not everyone that aspires to be an author can handle the rejection that comes with sending their work out into the world.  This kind of rejection can easily break a person’s spirit, causing them to become bitter and angry.

     What type of writer are you?