What It’s Like to Be a Writer
Many people don’t think writing is hard work. After all, you don’t have to be physically active in order to write. You just sit there at your desk and start typing. You don’t even have to know spelling or grammar because you can use spellcheck.
Writing Is More Difficult than It May Seem
Actually, writing is a lot more difficult than it seems. First, you have to have an idea. What are you going to write about? Second, you have to be able to break the idea down into small chunks. Lastly, you have to make it all flow and sound good, so good that people will want to read it.
Being a writer isn’t a hardship by any means. Personally, I enjoy writing quite a bit. But there are definitely days when writing doesn’t come easy. There are days when you have a topic to write about, but you just can’t think of anything new to add to it.
Writing a novel can be even more difficult. You have to keep thinking of exciting things to happen to your characters in order to make readers want to finish the book. Of course, you don’t always need a lot of action. Think of Jane Austen and how little actually happens in her stories. But I digress…
Editing Your Work Can Break Your Heart
When the words are flowing, writing can be a lot of fun. When you’re in the zone, you can easily forget what time (or even what day) it is. That’s the best part of the job.
The worst part is probably editing. When you read a paragraph or an entire chapter and realize that it’s not as good as you thought. Or worse, you realize that it doesn’t really make sense for your story at all. Pressing the delete button may be the hardest thing you have ever done.
Only a writer can understand how difficult it is to change or delete text. Sometimes it really hurts. But editing is necessary. And in the end, you may discover that your finished product looks even better than you thought.
The Pay Is Ridiculously Low
Generally, writing doesn’t pay well. If you write and publish your own books, then you may never see any money for all the time you have spent working on your craft. Even writing for clients doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford to make a living as a writer.
The truth is there are millions of people who write books. But only a handful of them strike it rich. A few more can earn a decent income from their work. The rest don’t write for money. They write because they have a story to tell.
The Barrier to Entry Is Even Lower
One of the reasons writing doesn’t pay a lot is that the barrier to entry is low. There are only few people in the world who are illiterate. The rest may not understand the rules of spelling and grammar, but that doesn’t mean they can’t write and publish a book. Anyone can do it.
In a way, that’s also great. There is no age limit (top or bottom) to being a writer. You don’t have to have a degree or even a high school diploma. You don’t have to have a job. You don’t have to fulfill any meaningless criteria in order to be a writer.
You just have to write.
