Make my living as a writer

It happened today.

That one moment that can change your life.

The moment the fog clears, the storm calms and the light reveals the hidden (or not so hidden) truth, chasing away all doubts, questions and fears, leaving only unmistakable truth.

It happened for me today.

I’ve never had such clarity, such a vision, as to what I am meant to do with my life. I’ve always known I wanted to write and be published; making a living from my writing. But today, doing the most mundane, routine tasks, it struck me. For a moment all of time stood still and I knew. I really knew. I saw it as clearly as I see these words I’m typing.

I am a writer. It’s not a dream or a goal anymore. It’s who I already am. It’s what I do and will always do. I will have my house in Italy and be an author.

May your moment come and shine the true light on who you already are.

I was perusing my local Barnes & Noble bookstore and saw a book cover that grabbed me. Then the name struck me. The Revenge of the Shadow King. It’s a middle grade fantasy novel by co-authors Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis, who’ve been best friends from the womb. This is their first published novel and it’s through Scholastic. It looked and sounded good (and only $10.99 for an impressive hardcover book), so I picked it up. Then I started reading it to a bunch of kids at a homeless shelter I volunteer at. Even the adults started listening and loved it.

I learned the authors were going to be at Barnes & Noble and thought it’d be fun and interesting to hear them speak. I wasn’t prepared for how it really turned out!

I was talking to the Barnes & Noble event coordinator before the event when the authors came in. I got the chance to speak with them before the event. I told them about the kids at the shelter I had read the book to and what the kids had to say about it. They were beyond gracious and appreciative of the feedback. (Who of us, as authors, wouldn’t want feedback from our target audience who’ve actually read our book?)

The event went well and it was a lot of fun to watch the kids get their books signed. The guys were very friendly, giving time to everyone. Afterwards, I got to spend about 30 minutes with them again. When they signed my book, they actually drew the characters inside with an inscription for me! How great is that?

They made me promise to stay in touch with them because I told them I was currently writing a book and they wanted to know what it was about. I told them and they said they would love to put it before their agent! I wasn’t expecting anything like that. I would never conceive to use someone else’s book signing for my benefit, but they were very kind and sincere about it.

As for their book, The Revenge of the Shadow King, it really is an adventurous read. It only came out this March and is already making a name for itself in the school systems. It’s going to be part of a series, and the second one comes out this Christmas. The way the kids are working on this book, you’ll be sure to hear about it soon enough.

I was just so pumped-up from the whole night last night that I wanted to include it here and hopefully, it might inspire someone else to keep writing! It sure did the trick for me!

I run across a lot of people that would like to make a living from their writing, but they don’t seem to write very much. Without a doubt, talking about being a writer is more fun than actually being one. That’s because it takes work and commitment.

You actually have to sit your butt down in a chair, put your fingers on the keyboard and write—one word at a time, one sentence at a time, one paragraph at a time, one page at a time, one chapter at a time. Writers are perpetually moving forward.

I have a three part strategy that works for me and I hope it will encourage someone else who needs that little push.

1. Write on a regular schedule. If you want it to be your job, treat it like one. Set some time to write before you go to work in the mornings, when you get home at night, weekends, whenever you can. Being a working author is a possible goal, but it takes commitment.

2. Keep Score Set a word count goal per day and write until you meet it. Without a goal to help push you onward in your commitment you’re likely not going to get very far. Goals work. Even if it’s just during your lunch break at work. Commit to writing at the same time every day.

3. Write NOW! Most wannabe writers are waiting until their lives are perfect or in order until they will start writing. Be honest, is that time ever going to come? I don’t know of any writers that excuse worked for.

Remember, you’re a writer if you’ve written today.

Tomorrow, May 1st, I’m going to jump back into my writing. I have so many story ideas that I’ve shared with people who have “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed” over them, asking if they could read each chapter as I finish it. I’m blessed to have that kind of encouragement.

My goal for the month of May is one great, publishable short story or 15,000 words into a good novel with promise. It’s do-able! Let’s see some more chatter and enthusiasm from others here! You can’t make a living from your writing if you don’t write! You have a passion, folks, and you have it for a reason! You were meant to do something with it!

Just give me a log cabin in the country, a stone fireplace with a desk in front of it, a dog, a horse, peace and quiet and a royalty check… that’s all I need.