I am Transitioning my Career as a Writer; It is Exciting and Unnerving
I always dreamt of making a living as a writer. But dreams have a knack for stubbornly staying dreams. It is just now, actually today, that I feel that it is possible for me to make a career ( at least part-time) as a writer. Here is why…
But I didn’t want to be just any kind of writer.
With all due respect to all the writers out there who are pouring their sweat and blood into their profession to make a living, the idea of writing for somebody does not appeal to me.
I want to write what I want to write, not what somebody else wants me to write.
I am also averse to the idea of somebody keeping my intellectual and creative output as their property.
So, with this limited option that I have given myself, I probably can be only a part-time writer, and I am very ok with that. I have my other job which I love and I will continue to be doing.
My first hundred dollars
So what makes me think I can earn money writing, you ask? Because I did. I am going to cross hundred dollars in April, 2024.
Now I know that hundred dollars will not exactly help me lead a life of luxury and opulence. But please keep in mind that it is my first hundred dollars from writing. I wrote what I wanted to write, and earned money from it. It is crazy if you think of it.
And that’s the point. Now I think it is possible. If I can make a hundred, I can make a thousand, and then probably thousands. Who knows? But I know I can do it. Sometimes you can feel in your bones if you can or can not do something.
There are two reasons for it.
1. I can write – I can sit down with a nice cup of coffee and churn out between five hundred to one thousand words easily. I hope it does not come off as bragging, but writing comes easy to me. When I sit at my desk and am in the “zone” I get into a kind of semiautomatic mode and words start pouring.
I know I still need to learn a lot about online writing. I am learning from amazing fellow writers on Medium, and seem to be improving with every article.
2. I have no dearth of ideas – There was a time when I thought about how writers come up with ideas? Now I think it is one of the easiest components of writing.
On any given day I can think of at least five things to write about. Whenever a thought comes to my mind worth writing about, I jot it down in google docs on my phone.
Writing is externalizing your thinking. If you can think about something, you can write about it too. No matter what mundane and commonplace the topic is, if you have something to say, somebody will be interested.
My problem is not the lack of ideas, but lack of time. I need to find free windows in my hectic schedule. That means, cutting down on social media, Netflix and unfollowing Elon musk on X (or Y, Z wherever he is).
What I want to write about
Short answer: so many think.
I don’t think I will niche it down to one topic. I am interested in so many things; I have opinions about so many things; so I am going to write abut so many things.
But I also understand that I need to strategise a bit if I am hoping to get paid for my writing. I will need to strike a balance between what I want to write and what people will like to read.
I have been working in the field of communication and soft-skills, so personal growth and well-being will be my prime niche. But apart from that I will write about ideas, events, people and what not.
I write about anything under the sun and beyond. I am here to spread my wings, not curtail them.
