amateur!

[nice90sguy]

I'm happy to think of myself as an amateur writer -- in its literal, or rather, original sense, meaning, that I "do it for the love of writing".

In my music life, I've been a professional performer (it was my sole income for 15 years, and "musician" was on my tax returns), but I have always been an amateur musician, even while I was at the same time a professional one.

So, if you're an amateur writer, be proud of it. It means you're not in danger of a becoming jaded "professional".

 

[HordHolm]

I'm happy to think of myself as an amateur writer -- in its literal, or rather, original sense, meaning, that I "do it for the love of writing".

In my music life, I've been a professional performer (it was my sole income for 15 years, and "musician" was on my tax returns), but I have always been an amateur musician, even while I was at the same time a professional one.

So, if you're an amateur writer, be proud of it. It means you're not in danger of a becoming jaded "professional".

I've met a fair few people over the years who've turned their hobby into their job. And loathed it with a passion. There's always a risk that one's escape from reality will be lost, and won't be replaced.

 

[StillStunned]

I've met a fair few people over the years who've turned their hobby into their job. And loathed it with a passion. There's always a risk that one's escape from reality will be lost, and won't be replaced.

It's not for nothing that the old saying of "make your living doing something you enjoy, and you'll never work another day in your life" has been replaced by "make your living doing something you enjoy, and you'll never enjoy it again."

That said, it's probably still more enjoyable than most other jobs. And if you're good at it, and can make a decent income, why not at least give it a try?

 

[Duleigh]

If someone wants to had me money for what I scribble, I'm going to let them, but I will probably never consider myself a professional writer. I don't want the pressure of cranking out something I didn't want to write to put food on the table. I love the freedom of going from murder mystery to fanfiction to trashy romance to Sci-Fi and anywhere else that I want to explore, I don't want to be chained to a genre like most professional authors are and if I write the ultimate sci-fi murder/romance and the world hates it, so what? I didn't threaten my future readership or fail to put food on the table because I'm not a professional writer.