Writing Is Not About Making Money
Don’t limit yourself to money-making ways…
For many of us, writing is a hobby, and for others, it is a way to make money. However, the famous Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling says words are an inexhaustible source of magic, which means writers should know the power of words. Through their work, they can injure someone, provide remedies, or raise their voice against or in favor of somebody.
Why do you write? Is it for fortune and popularity? The goal of every writer should be to leave a positive impact on the world. Here are some obvious reasons why writing is not about making money. In fact, it is a way to revolutionize the world.
1. Wrong Priorities
If you write for money, you will only focus on the content that can generate huge revenues. You will not want to write what can actually change the world. The emphasis on writing for money is overdrawn and often leads to false expectations. The chance is that you will never identify your hidden skills. Maybe, God has given you more than the capability of writing. If you shift your focus from making money to bringing positivity to the world, you will know your actual responsibilities.
Take the example of writers like H.P. Lovecraft and Franz Kafka. These two writers were gifted with some extraordinary skills. They didn’t write for money; instead, their focus was on leaving an everlasting impression on the world.
H.P. Lovecraft was an American writer whose fiction work is remembered by many of us. His Cthulhu mythos, a beautiful collection of interconnected short stories and novellas, is inspired by Stephen King and Alan Moore. He worked as a writer for years, but he could not earn enough money. He used to skip meals to pay for postage stamps.
On the other hand, Franz Kafka was a Czech writer who worked in Prague in the 20th century. He didn’t write for money. Instead, he focused on helping people know the alienating power of bureaucracies. Two of his finest works are The Trail and The Metamorphosis, both of which inspired his fans but didn’t get Franz anything to feed his family.
2. Unnecessary Disappointments
Those who write for money will be disappointed whenever their work is rejected by one or more publications or companies. Writing has to be about something else, whether it is the intent to entertain people, to keep them informed, or to alter their viewpoints about certain things.
In The Soul Tells a Story, Vinita Hampton Wright can be found saying that writing helps people remember the most talented people. Whether it is paid or unpaid, it should be done from one’s heart and we should put our creative skills to work to come up with something great.
It clearly means that when you worry less about making a living through writing, the doors of endless opportunities will open for you. This is because you will prefer quality over quantity and may do everything needed to improve your vocabulary and grammar. In the meantime, you shouldn’t dismiss the work that brings you money.
Final Thoughts
People like free things and ideas. Even beyond the immediate gratification of the freebie, it can build a good relationship between the author and consumer. So, you should start giving some stuff away for free and let people recognize you before you could actually make money as a writer. We shouldn’t forget how Scott Sigler posted his very first book (Earthcore) as a free podcast on iTunes. This helped him build an audience, and he started getting well-paying jobs.