Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Am I Wasting My Time Being A Writer?

If something I desire does not flow to me naturally, does that mean I am not meant to have it?

And if so, does that mean pursuing it would be a waste of time and energy and I should instead be focusing on what I naturally do well?

This thread came out of a long Skype conversation I had with my uncle yesterday.

He observed that while my passion lay in writing, I do not seem to be profiting financially from it, because marketing is not my strength. I may need to team up with someone who is a natural at marketing.

Point taken.

Guess it all depends on how I want to measure my success.

If being a successful writer means being a well-fed one, then I am definitely in the category of the starving artiste who needs a regular day job to pay the bills. Ouch.

But if being a successful writer means doing what I love, being happy and fulfilled because of it, and enjoying the occasional affirmation from a grateful reader, then regardless of how many zeroes there are in my bank balance, I guess I am a successful writer.

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