How much passion do you have for writing? I’ve known I was a writer at the age of nine, but didn’t do much with it until I was in my forties. Still, I have always been happiest sitting at the keyboard, which is why most of my jobs included typing in some form.
When others ask what I do for a living, my answer is simple: I’m a writer. I started as a freelance ghostwriter and soon after moved on to creating blogs to help others.
However, I found an even greater passion for writing in the prospect of writing books. To me, the difference between a paid ghostwriter and an author is night and day.
Why Writing Is My Passion
Unfortunately, I wasn’t really pushed to become a writer when I was a child, even when a lot of my time was spent at a typewriter. It’s amazing how a lack of support from your family can greatly alter your future.
Despite the lack of support, I still spent a lot of time over the last forty years writing here and there. Although most of it was for paying clients and centered mostly around copywriting, there was always a story in my head.
I Have an Extremely Active Imagination
To say that I have an active imagination is a bit of an understatement. I am constantly playing scenes in my mind of things that would be great to read in a book or see in a movie. I’ll even go so far as to act some of them out to determine if they truly are worthwhile scenes.
Yes, I’m almost 50 and will pick up a Nerf sword to act out a battle scene for my books.
When you have an active imagination, it’s always best to put it to good, constructive use. In my case, it’s writing stories that will eventually see a printed copy available on Amazon or in a Barnes & Noble.
I Love Sharing Ideas with Others
The primary reason why I built WriterSanctuary was to share my experience as a freelance writer. Over the years, I’ve included blogging and self-publishing, as they were logical choices for me in the grand scheme of things.
Nowadays, I have a passion to share those stories while writing books or even submitting them to online sites like Wattpad or Inkitt.
I get more of a kick from someone enjoying a story and making a comment than I do from selling a book. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to turn my passion into a decently paying career. But I am foremost interested in sharing ideas of various kinds with my audiences.
Telling Stories I Want to Read
The best way to find a story you want to read is to write it yourself. And yes, I thoroughly enjoy every book I’ve written. In fact, it causes a bit of a problem during the editing process as I wind up getting engrossed in my own story.
That’s how it should be, though. You should love what you write and enjoy the entire process from start to finish.
Are my books related to what’s trending today? Nope. I’m telling the stories I want to read, despite what is popular. I’m sure I could jump on a trending bandwagon and write something relatable. But at the moment, I simply enjoy writing what is currently in my head.
Continuously Advancing
Part of my passion for writing comes from always growing to include more aspects of my career. As a professional, my progression went as follows:
- Became a freelance ghostwriter using content mills to replace my income.
- Started several blogs, highlighting my interests while helping others.
- Began writing for private clients to surpass what I made using content mills.
- Published my first two books, with more on the way.
Next, I plan on experimenting with writing screenplays and perhaps making creative YouTube videos.
The bottom line is that I am constantly looking forward to what I can accomplish next. I have plans for a variety of series, both book and video. And eventually, I would love to teach creative writing at the college level.
Always in motion, my future is.
Writing as a Form of Immortality
Now, will I be as famous as Stephen King? Will my books be read 100 years after they’ve been published? Who knows? It’s a nice thought, but I’m also a realist. Unless I can master marketing, I might just go down in the history books as obscure.
Nonetheless, printed copies of my books are out in the wild. Perhaps one day, someone’s grandchild will pick one up and be entertained. That’s what happened with me and one of my grandmother’s books, published in 1938.
I still remember the smell of the aged paper.
Anyway, you never know when you’ll become someone’s favorite author. But if you don’t try, it’s a guarantee that it will never happen. A small part of me is comforted that perhaps 100 years down the road, someone will come across a copy of Kingmaker or Shadows of Atlantic City.
Write the Story You Want to Tell
I am a strong proponent of writing the story you want to tell. I don’t believe anyone’s voice should be silenced, even if it’s written on paper. That also means that I am very opposed to book burnings.
In fact, one of my favorite lines from a movie that I constantly quote is: “It tells me that goose-stepping morons like yourself should try reading books instead of burning them.” And yes, I think I do a pretty reasonable Sean Connery impression while saying it.
The way I see it, a book is only controversial to someone who isn’t the author’s audience. Does that mean it should be banned? Hell no. It just means that not every book is going to be for every reader.
I support everyone’s right to tell the story they want to tell. I don’t have to like every book, but I will do what I can to help promote authors and their right to see their books get into the hands of their audiences.
If you truly have a passion for writing, write the story you want to tell, not what someone thinks you should write. It doesn’t matter who hates your book, because they are not your audience.
Of course, you want to make sure you write a coherent book. But don’t mistake a bad idea for bad writing. They are not the same. Work on your craft and continue to strive to entertain and inform your specific target audience.
Marketing Is Not the Same as Writing
I’ve seen a lot of authors who have a passion for writing but get discouraged because they don’t make a lot of sales. I get it; any writer would love to get paid a decent wage for doing something they love.
The problem is when authors conflate a lack of sales with a lack of skill when publishing their books. Then, some of them will consider giving up because they’re not on the cover of some magazine as a best-selling author. Or, perhaps they think they can’t write well enough to engage an audience.
Marketing is a vital part of self-publishing. No one will buy the book if they don’t know it exists. Every aspect of getting the word out about your novel is on your shoulders. That is, unless you pay for professional help, which can cost several thousand dollars up front.
The point I want to make here is that a lack of marketing skills does not equate to a lack of writing skills. You could be sitting on a best-selling novel right now, but without the knowledge or funding to get it out to the public, no one will know it.
I would wager that a lot of self-published authors have books that would perform relatively well if they had access to marketing beyond sharing on social media.
Never a Fan of Writing with AI
I would never write with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Using AI would take away from the passion I have for writing. It would no longer be my story, only one that was derived from the works of others.
What about using AI to get over writer’s block or to inspire creativity? That’s part of the process of putting together a good book for your audience. Using your imagination and digging yourself out of a proverbial hole in your writing is what makes authors great.
It’s not about how many books you can sell or how fast you crank out that next novel. Truly being an author is about embracing all aspects of creation, regardless of how long it takes you to get past those moments.
Part of being successful at anything in life is how you persevere when things go sideways. How you adapt and adjust to problems strengthens your abilities, improving upon the best version of yourself. Artificial intelligence robs you of those learning experiences.
What’s a Story You’re Passionate About Writing?
Truth be told, I haven’t sold a copy of Kingmaker through Amazon in almost a year. Then again, I haven’t really marketed the book all that much, given my financial and time constraints. However, I’ll finish writing the series because I am passionate about writing it.
Would I like to replace my freelancing income with publishing books? Sure, who wouldn’t? But I’m not going to let that stop me from writing and self-publishing my stories.
At the moment, it’s all about writing and fulfilling a passion I’ve had since I was nine years old. Let the cards fall where they may.
Ask yourself, why are you passionate about writing?
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