Writing for love and money

“Success is writing easily and joyfully
of the things you care most about.” 

Julie Zickefoose

Writers are a mixed bag. Some write just for the pleasure of it and, if something gets published, that’s a bonus. As for the money potential, that’s irrelevant to them—not something that they consider or evaluate. 

Others write because that’s their livelihood. Whether the topic or project excites them or not, they still do it to the best of their abilities because the bills are due and the kids (or pets!) need fed. 


Then there are those in the third category (and I count myself among this group). We are “working writers”: we write for a living just like other people build houses, clean offices or ring up groceries at the local store. We treat it like a business: we are accessible to our clients, meet our deadlines, market on a regular basis (by which I mean at least once a week) and expand our skill set.

But we also have the “other writing”: the writing that we love, that we do for us. That’s the writing that feeds our soul, reminds us of how much we love the creative ability that fuels our writing. And if something that develops from that other writing gets published—a short story, essay, poem or novel—that’s wonderful but that wasn’t why we did it. We did it because we had to—because we could no more deny our need to write than we could deny our need to breathe. 

If you fall into this third group, make sure that you set aside time in your schedule for that “other writing.” Yes, I know: you have deadlines, you have personal responsibilities. And then there is that pesky thing called the need for sleep that crops up at the most inopportune time. I know. Believe me, it’s something I struggle with as well. But what else I know is that, when I don’t make time for my writing, I suffer—and all my writing suffers.

We write because we have to and because we want to. And our own projects—those that fill our souls with passion and joy—are just as important as the projects that fill our bank accounts.