Do you want to be a writer? Have you always fantasized about earning a living by being a novelist or freelance writer? This section of InspiredAuthor.com is where I’ll share how I went from: Wanting to write professionally and not knowing where to begin, to earning money by writing in just a few short months in a real work at home career. Is fear preventing you from living out your dream? Sometimes you know you want to do something but you procrastinate it because of the effort you think will be involved.
You don’t want to put yourself out there and be rejected and you certainly don’t want to work hard for a long time and have your efforts not bear fruit. Fear of failure can be paralyzing. Despite hearing about how fistfuls of famous authors had a classic book turned down ten times as a manuscript before becoming published, that still isn’t enough to convince many talented writers to take that plunge forward.
How Blogging Started The Ball Rolling in My Freelance Writing Career
One day, I signed up for a blog. I don’t even remember exactly how I stumbled upon it but I do remember that day well. I was bored with what I was doing and I wanted more. But I didn’t know that the small act of signing up for that blog was the beginning of taking charge of my own destiny, of making my own dream job more than a dream-- my reality.
My ultimate dream job was to be a writer and I always talked about getting there but never did anything to put myself out there to get noticed. I had nearly resolved myself to the fact that writing was something I’d just always talk about doing but deep down, I started to become fearful of actually doing it. I used to tell people of my fantasy of faxing or e-mailing my manuscript to my publisher from lavish locations where I could stare at breathtaking scenery while writing bestsellers. In reality, I was a closet writer until recently.
Adulthood had instilled fear into me. In those days I was full of vim and vigor on the subject and I told family quite loudly that I’d be published before the age of 21. By twenty-one, I said I’d be definitely published by 25. I never dared to utter the words, “Published by 30” though because by 26, I was deathly afraid of looking back from the ripe age of 70 and wishing I’d done something to chase that dream. Fear was paralyzing me and regular every day life was my scapegoat. I then wondered if I was ever really a writer at all.
Perhaps I only wrote to escape my reality and that’s all writing would ever be for me—an outlet. I had long since abandoned a stack of unfinished novels plus notebooks and notebooks full of ideas. I don’t even know where they went as they went from being prized possessions protected by be as my future destiny to disappearing into the shadows while I got wrapped up in the daily grind of that infamous rat race.
Overcome the Fear of Submitting Your Writing Work
Could I overcome my fear of failure? Could I be the writer I dreamed about. I could and I did. And I'll tell you know. I firmly believe in the 'pay it forward' philosophy so I will share my experience. A few kind and generous people shared with me, how they got to become writers and without that generousity I might still be wondering if I'd ever get a shot at being a real writer. Today, when people ask me what I do for a living, I still hesitate before I hear my voice answer, "I am a writer."
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