“When I was in college, I knew I wanted to be a writer. And to be a writer means, as everyone knows, to be published. And I copied in my journal from Chekov’s letters: ‘You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures. Don’t let that concern you. It’s your duty to go on working steadily day by day, quite quietly, to be prepared for mistakes, which are inevitable, and failures.’
“I believed those words then, and I believe them now, though in the intervening years my faith in them has often been tested. After the success of my first novels I was not prepared for rejections, for the long years of failure. Again I turned to Chekov: ‘The thought that I must, that I ought to, write, never leaves me for an instant.’ Alas, it did leave me, when I had attacks of false guilt because I was spending so much time at the typewriter and in no way pulling my own weight financially. But it never left me for long.” Madeleine L’Engle
Ah. The inevitable line we writers hear repeatedly in the course of pursuing a career in writing…”Don’t write in order to make money because you wont. You must write because it’s your passion. If you love it, it won’t matter if you ever make money.”
Allow me to boldly say what we all secretly think when we first hear that (and dare not say aloud because then we would be labeled as a dispassionate poser): HOGWASH!
What a dichotomy of expressions we hear from life coaches and motivational speakers . . .”Do what you love, pursue your dreams. That’s the only way to be successful AND fulfilled.” (As if there’s an unwritten promise that we WILL be successful if we pursue what we love strong enough and long enough). Or else, “If you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, it won’t matter what anyone else thinks. Making money won’t matter. You do it because you love it, even if no one else does.” (As if money isn’t quite necessary, but passion is).
There is an expectation among artists to make one or the other line of thought their mantra. That’s why I appreciate the honesty in the above quote from ML’E. Yes, let’s just admit it . . . we all really do hope to be published. That is a measure of success. We really would love to make some money from this hobby and turn it into a job. We really want to redeem the hours spent at the keyboard ignoring other household needs or missing out on family time.
And that’s okay.
At least I’m going to give you permission to make it okay, and I feel I’m in good company with ML’E’s thoughts on the matter. The artistic life is one of passion and perspective.
Now, I’m not pretending there aren’t droves of artists, writers, and bloggers out there doing it purely for the love of their craft and to encourage others. There are. But I cannot imagine that any one of them wouldn’t want to make a living doing it if they could figure out how to make that happen. If they don’t need extra income and can write merely as a hobby, then they will continue to pursue it for as long as it is fulfilling. But still . . . would they scoff at a publisher that contacted them to turn their blog into a book? Not likely. But I think some might scoff at my going into a writing career with an expectation to earn something back for time spent.
Funny how we don’t think that about other job choices (which can be based on someone’s left-brained gifting) . . . my CPA doesn’t crunch numbers merely for the love of spreadsheets.
What of those that would pursue their passions to the detriment of their family or paying the bills? Is that acceptable? I think most of us would say it is not, yet there are some that have idolized their craft to the point of excluding everything and everyone else. They find themselves middle-aged, living in their parent’s garage, sleeping on a cot, and creating their masterpiece beneath an incandescent bulb next to the lawnmower. Not exactly fulfilling if you ask me. But if you ask them they may say, “I’m being true to my art.”
No comment.
The older I get the more I see a need for balance in all areas of life. Balance and realistic expectations. Okay, balance, realistic expectations, and honesty. Those three things will help all of us find our gifts, use them to their fullest potential (which will vary during different seasons of life), and know when we need to keep our day job. Balance also allows room for dreaming. And yes, I dream about being a published author, I’ll admit it. And yes, I know that publishing doesn’t necessarily bring in much in the royalty department but I’m willing to work towards one small goal and build upon the success of each one. If I had a guarantee to never make a penny from writing, I do not know that I would spend as much time pursuing it.
I’m thankful for someone like ML’E that can be transparent enough to admit that it’s a tug-o-war. My passion on one side can be at odds with the realities of living in a world that doesn’t use the barter system on the other. I must stay committed but not to the detriment of my home and family. I must pursue excellence, but there are times when I may need to punch a time clock to make ends meet.
I also must be honest . . . I love to write but I shall not live to write. Writing is an intricate part of my life but it isn’t my god. And I must be mindful of answering to God for the selfish desires, wasteful pursuits, and missed opportunities that are an inevitable part of learning to live with passion without being controlled by it.
How about you? What are your expectations for the time you devote to your art? Sorry if I stepped on some toes and over-generalized here. I know there are always exceptions. If you never make a dime off of your craft, are you willing to write for the love of it . . . indefinitely? How will you know when it’s time to give up on a dream and pursue something else? How do you define success as a writer?
It’s too soon for me to answer that for myself.
While I would love to be paid for what I write, I’ve found that, for my current season, I have to remove my eyes from that ideal. Otherwise, I become discontent. I was encouraged a couple of weeks ago; I sent the beginning of a new manuscript to a friend who loved it! (She gives brutally honest feedback, which is why she’s my go-to gal.) The fact that she enjoyed the story was enough to satisfy my writer’s heart and to move me to continue the story. This is good news, because it means I can write for the sake of writing (for now!). Someday all the angst and typing and banging my head against the computer screen will culminate into something complete. Someday. 🙂
Yes, there’s a season for writing for pleasure and honing one’s skills. There are so many pulls in life and it’s a blessing to just get to express yourself in your gifting. Still, it’s ok to have eye towards “one day”!
I’m looking forward to it!! 🙂
Certainly I would love to be published, but would also like to do it without all the hard work – a reflection of my lazy heart. I am reminded, though, of something a friend at church said to me not long ago. Beyond the issue of being published or making money is the issue of legacy. What will you leave behind for your children’s children? What will they remember about you? Whether or not the world at large ever reads Deanna Brown, I will leave behind something of my life for the next generations of Browns to read – an perhaps make money on after I am dead, like any number of starving artists. This is one of my favorite posts you have written. You are finding your blogging voice.
I hear ya, Deanna! Though I’m not chronicling our lives, as you are, I do have a desire to say to future generations, “I was here. And I thought about you reading this some day.” I also failed to mention the side of writing that is therapeutic for people when they are in dark or difficult times. Certainly being compensated isn’t on someone’s mind when they just need to process life and share their experiences with others!
Glad you enjoyed the post…but I’m a bit worried. Is my blogging voice best when it’s blunt and cynical? LOL. Maybe a bit of Sadie Larcen coming through, eh? Ok, no…it’s the REAL me 😉
Thanks for weighing in, Abby! I also thought of your post about making some tough decisions with your writing time and being more intentional with pursuing some opportunities serve (would love to link to it but can’t remember which one specifically. Can you email it to me?)
And yes, definitely the motivation of our hearts is the great litmus test for whatever we pursue! That was a whole separate train of thought I didn’t get into. For every writer there are just as many reasons for writing, though much could be lumped into some general categories.
My next post will take a slightly different spin on why we create. A reason and motivation for all of us, whether we’ve verbalized it to ourselves or not. ML’E has a way of looking at the many facets of writing which enrich the process so much more. Stay tuned 🙂
I think this is a nice dose of reality. I read another blogger who does his level best to try and puncture the balloons of ‘artistic’ types and get people to think about writing as they would any other job.
I will admit though, that even if I never got published I would still write. I think blogs help with this, because even though I’m not getting paid, I know I’m being read.
But…like you said. How much time do you take away from your family to do a hobby which doesn’t pay? Would I be okay with my husband spending this much time playing video games? Or my kind watching youtube videos? Yes and no.
It would depend on how they put it to use. Are they doing this, are we doing this, just for ourselves? Is there a way we can serve them and our church family through our writing?
Ultimately this is one of the reasons I switched from Urban Fantasy to children’s stories, YA, and the blog I have now. All of my writing is now geared towards encouraging my church family. Now when I spend several hours crafting a story I know it’s to serve my church and not just myself.
So! I think lots of good points here and I bet everyone will come at it with a different perspective!
He-he, Heather. Oh, good news! The email post came through PERFECTLY. It looks great now.
Sorry to burst your bubble, my dear, but this-here sentence is SO not me:
“Yes, let’s just admit it . . . we all really do hope to be published.”
Uh . . . that would be a “no.” I had to be hauled, lassoed, and cattle-prodded to submit my work. I was happy as can be, just writing for myself. Then that fateful day when somebody put those dreaded words in my ears: “You should try to get this story published. It’s really good.” Huh? You mean as in a real book? Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not brave enough (or interested enough) to go to all that work (not to mention make myself vulnerable). I haven’t the first clue where to begin anyway (pre-Internet days).
But I gave in to writers’ pressure and thought, “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” Ten years later:
And to think . . . I could be happily (selfishly, I might add) writing stories and not having an iota of PRESSURE (revisions due next week! AUGH!) if I wasn’t published. I would even LIKE what I write if I wasn’t published. I could . . . yes . . . actually WRITE if I were not published. (creativity + deadlines = writer’s block).
Alas, now I feel for Moses. When God gets hold of you the excuses don’t work any longer. I write because that is what God wants me to do during this season of life. When this season is over, I’ll (hopefully) do something else. Oh, and about the money. Sorry, the rumors are true: you don’t make very much of it.
Ha ha! I was certainly thinking of you in parts of this post! And, as I said, there are always exceptions. No surprise to me that YOU are exceptional! You’re like those people that just get “discovered” and slide right into some sought after career that others have only dreamed about (or worked their tales off to attain). What a blessing for you (and an inspiration for me!).
And yes, I know the money is not prolific but something remains greater than nothing 🙂
Super glad the post came through properly. Much easier to read, right?
One day I’m going to write a post about my writing mentor and all that she means to me. I hope you’ll comment on that post too 🙂
One more thing, Susan…the photo above is a picture of my manuscript AFTER I got it back from you (in all of it’s red-inked glory)!