Overwhelmed and Underpaid

Today I began reading some of the Tips for Writers on Cinda Williams Chima’s website www.cindachima.com and I have been left overwhelmed by the amount of hard work you must put into your writing if you are seriously planning to pursue your dreams!

And y’know what really pisses me off?

That people around you, and when I say people around me, I mean most of my relatives and practically all of my former teachers regard me as a jobless little thing! ‘What are you doing now darling? Oh, you’re writing? That’s wonderful!’ when in reality what they feel is, ‘The poor child. But writing isn’t a real profession, it’s just something you do for fun right?’

Dead wrong!

Any writer will agree with me that writing, firstly, is indeed the very epitome of writing. Yes! We love it, so we do it!

But if you are planning to become serious in your craft, walk the hallowed hallways of the likes of Tolkien, King or Rowling, then you have to put your all into it! Your writing becomes your job, albeit a creative and extremely fun job, but still something serious and very real, something not everyone can do to perfection!

So yes! We are serious, real people carrying out a serious real profession even though most of the success depends on how well you can paint your pictures in the minds of your audience and a little bit of luck.

That’s how I’m feeling right now. Overwhelmed and underpaid!

Well, not really underpaid as such because I don’t have a job! J

But this is my job and while people aren’t taking me seriously, I know that there are millions of other aspiring – wannabe – writers who feel as desolate as I am. And this is my way of getting rid of the loneliness of a misunderstood artiste.

I felt the best way to keep track of the trails and errors of this road to literary near – perfection (because obviously perfectionism stinks!) and know that someday, I’m going to make it to the big time!

Someday, after all the toiling and crying – like Jo Rowling in her Sorcerer creating café days – I too will make my dream a reality.

I too will proudly proclaim that I am a WRITER!

And it darn well is a real profession I’d thank you to remember!