“I just wondered how you got started writing?” Tips in your pursuit in a writing career Research on what this career involves

    Crossroads…if you are going to pursue a career in writing, I have found that you will come to crossroads again and again because the writing road is not a straight shot. Traveling down a normal road will usually at some point bring you to a place where you must decide to go left or right or sometimes whether to turn around.

    My first writing crossroads was when the writing class in my town was offered…did I want to even consider a deeper level of seriousness in what was a hobby? Then the cross roads came quicker…did I want to join a writing group? Did I want to read things I wrote in front of others? Did I want to take a computer class to enhance my skills? And finally, did I want to try and write a novel?

    Each of these turning points led to the next with the simple phrase, “I am going to try.” For me the crossroads that finally brought me to a halt and led to many weeks of pondering was the financial one. I reached a point where I needed to invest more than price of a class or paper or the gas to go to writer’s group. Did I want to invest in getting my novel edited so it would stand more of a chance to be published? Did I want to upgrade computer programs so the work would be easier? Did I want to financially invest in a website to promote my writing beyond my “free” blogs I already had?

     I know the past few paragraphs are posing a lot of questions but these are questions that need to be thought about and decided on if you are seriously pursuing a writing career. Research led me to understand that most publishers want a person in it for the long haul; someone with something more to offer than just the ability to write. Can you speak? Can you write non-fiction? Do you have a platform? Are you willing to deal with the first few years of hard, hard work?

    You probably don’t have to answer all these questions right away but at some point you will have to answer them or just keep writing as a hobby. Hobbies are great; it would be good to decide before you invest a lot of time and money. Did I? I agonized at each crossroad with every decision but the final word for me was that I knew that I would regret it if I at least didn’t try. Self-publishing just to see my book in print for family and friends is a good option but wasn’t mine, neither financially or otherwise.

     So I continue to write and come to the next crossroads and a chance to make another decision. Next week we will discuss in detail some of the things it takes to move from being a casual writer to a career writer…