RAY WENCK
Author. Educator. Lecturer.
Blog - Writer's Journey
I'm Back!
| Posted on March 5, 2017 at 4:05 PM |
I do a lot of shows and meet many new readers. At least once at every show someone will come up
to me and announce �??I want to be a writer, too.�?�
My pat response is, �??What does a writer do?�?�
Most of them get it right, �??They write.�?�
Then I ask if they're making time to write?
Most don't.
So I preach about making time, etc.
But recently I was asked if writing was lucrative?
I almost laughed until I realized what was really being asked. The husband wanted to write his story
about his 3 tours in Afghanistan. From the set of his jaw and the distant look in his eyes as he talked, I
could see it was a story that needed to be told, if only for his sake. His wife, didn't understand his need,
but saw the venture in a more practical sense. She was worried it was going to effect their financial
situation.
Although at times, my writing has paid well, few make a living at it, but I wasn't about to scare him
off from what he had the desire to do. So once again, I went to my usual responses, in hopes of
alleviating the wife's fears and motivating the would be writer. The answer is true for all wannabe
authors.
First, and most important, you have to make time on a regular basis to write. It might be daily for an
hour, or twice a week for thirty minutes, but you have to make time or the story never progresses and
remains bottled up inside. Also, the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to ever do it. I wish
I had started 20 years ago. Don't live your life with regret. If you try and fail, you can hold your head
high for having made the effort.
Next, write the story you want to, not one dictated by genre or what's currently hot at the moment.
Write it. Finish it. Then go back and adjust it. You can't publish a story that isn't finished.
And last, though some disagree with this, write for yourself. Write for the enjoyment of it, for the
desire of accomplishing something you have always dreamed of doing, or for whatever reason. Don't
write because you think it will make money. For most of us, that process is slow and uncompensated.
The most rewarding part of writing for me is the moment I put The End on the page.
I wrote four full length novels before ever being talked into to submitting for publication. Although
I'm glad I did, it changed writing for me. I still enjoy writing, but all of the other stuff that goes with it
bogs down my day. Still, I wouldn't change it, but for all beginning writers, take one step at a time. The
most fun you will ever have being a writer is the writing itself.
I didn't lie to this couple about the glories and profit of being a published author, but I did encourage
him to take that first step and sit down and write.
For me, having accomplished so much more than I ever thought possible, writing has been very
lucrative, indeed.
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