Response to the letter. Can I make money on literary work?
In connection with this post , I received a letter to which I want to respond publicly with the permission of the author of the letter. I hope that for someone it will also provide food for thought, so I ask those who are not interested to not waste their time reading. I specially put kat here. I
publish the letter with abbreviations.
I have a great inner desire to write. And the older I get, the more power it gains.
All this time I live with the feeling that someone owes something: parents have the opportunity to be proud of their son, their wife a worthy future and stability ... And I really want to break out of the imposed, miserable miserable little world and finally breathe deeply. But the sense of responsibility, as well as the complete misunderstanding of people close to me, who believe that a sense of duty to the family should prevail over their own interests, interfere.
Yes, and I am completely not sure of my abilities, of the ability to make money on my work.
I have written several stories and a dozen or two poems. Now I am faced with a choice: to devote myself completely to literature or to find myself a temporary job in my specialty.
It seems to me impossible to combine work with a normal income and literature - there is simply no time and effort left for this. So I'm thinking about creating a site where I could post my works and try to make money on it.
Greetings and thanks for the frankness.
So, the very first thing:
1. Get rid of the words "impossible, probably likely." The leader clearly understands that he can achieve everything and is not afraid of difficulties. Therefore, it is difficult to stop when he goes to the goal.
2.You can understand your family. The fact is that at one time I also worked at work, which occupied all my free time, but I wanted to do something for myself, to do what I like. And you had to read and learn a lot. I just cut off every hour or two from my sleep every day. He went to bed after midnight, and in the morning he got up to work and walked and worked, and in the evening he again self-taught. Several years passed and I learned a lot, if I chose to sleep, I would not sit at home and work, getting many times more than my previous work, while staying at home with my family. Therefore, regarding the combination of work and literature, I’ll tell you this: come to a compromise, find a job that will bring a stable income to your family and allow you to combine creativity. Example: guard or watchman or taxi driver, or a loader (we, as students, gave announcements of unloading by a brigade of trucks and all that, the extra earnings are very good and there is a lot of free time) In this work, you can write your works, not to mention the dumping days and weekends. A taxi driver who sits in a car can write poetry or short stories, and besides, he constantly meets interesting characters and finds himself in different non-standard situations. You understand my thought.
3. Begin to join the community of writers and artists. It seems like a lot of talented people at lib.ru, regular competitions are held, people actively communicate and share experiences. You do not need to wait at the fate of gifts. You just do what you have to do. Communication with colleagues and like-minded people is the greatest opportunity. Show yourself as a good person and you will be noticed, remembered, there you will find friends and acquaintances. And who knows - maybe one of them will offer you to participate in some kind of project.
4.Try to get feedback where possible, gratefully accept the criticism. If you were told no, this is not a reason for frustration. Up to 40 years old, Abraham Lincoln was considered a failure, he could not organize something worthwhile, no matter what he undertook. How many talented writers said no - hundreds of times, but they still wrote and did something. Even this letter and possible comments in the post is the beginning of your journey. Whatever they are, people's words, they should not stop you, but just the opposite, motivate you.
5.I advise you to read motivational books: Joe Vitale, John Kehoe, Napoleon Hill, Ronda Burn, Jack Canfield, spouses Hicks, Charles Enel and others. You will see that many people achieve their goals not because of chance or coincidence, but only because of work, determination and concentration. And almost all successful people repeatedly received their bruises and bumps like all other people. They succeeded because they did not stop and did not betray their dream.
6.As for the site. I do not think that you need this in the first place. This will take a lot of effort - technical support, ext. expenses for hosting, domain, service. You can make your page on LiveJournal or a blog, post your works there, using it as a repository, especially since there are many of your like-minded people. Now there are a lot of people writing poems and stories. You need to become familiar with your community. Something to stand out. As an example, Artemy Lebedev. I do not presume to judge him as a designer, but you must admit that in the first place he made himself as a person, design is secondary. He is Lebedev, and then a designer.
Good luck
publish the letter with abbreviations.
I have a great inner desire to write. And the older I get, the more power it gains.
All this time I live with the feeling that someone owes something: parents have the opportunity to be proud of their son, their wife a worthy future and stability ... And I really want to break out of the imposed, miserable miserable little world and finally breathe deeply. But the sense of responsibility, as well as the complete misunderstanding of people close to me, who believe that a sense of duty to the family should prevail over their own interests, interfere.
Yes, and I am completely not sure of my abilities, of the ability to make money on my work.
I have written several stories and a dozen or two poems. Now I am faced with a choice: to devote myself completely to literature or to find myself a temporary job in my specialty.
It seems to me impossible to combine work with a normal income and literature - there is simply no time and effort left for this. So I'm thinking about creating a site where I could post my works and try to make money on it.
Greetings and thanks for the frankness.
So, the very first thing:
1. Get rid of the words "impossible, probably likely." The leader clearly understands that he can achieve everything and is not afraid of difficulties. Therefore, it is difficult to stop when he goes to the goal.
2.You can understand your family. The fact is that at one time I also worked at work, which occupied all my free time, but I wanted to do something for myself, to do what I like. And you had to read and learn a lot. I just cut off every hour or two from my sleep every day. He went to bed after midnight, and in the morning he got up to work and walked and worked, and in the evening he again self-taught. Several years passed and I learned a lot, if I chose to sleep, I would not sit at home and work, getting many times more than my previous work, while staying at home with my family. Therefore, regarding the combination of work and literature, I’ll tell you this: come to a compromise, find a job that will bring a stable income to your family and allow you to combine creativity. Example: guard or watchman or taxi driver, or a loader (we, as students, gave announcements of unloading by a brigade of trucks and all that, the extra earnings are very good and there is a lot of free time) In this work, you can write your works, not to mention the dumping days and weekends. A taxi driver who sits in a car can write poetry or short stories, and besides, he constantly meets interesting characters and finds himself in different non-standard situations. You understand my thought.
3. Begin to join the community of writers and artists. It seems like a lot of talented people at lib.ru, regular competitions are held, people actively communicate and share experiences. You do not need to wait at the fate of gifts. You just do what you have to do. Communication with colleagues and like-minded people is the greatest opportunity. Show yourself as a good person and you will be noticed, remembered, there you will find friends and acquaintances. And who knows - maybe one of them will offer you to participate in some kind of project.
4.Try to get feedback where possible, gratefully accept the criticism. If you were told no, this is not a reason for frustration. Up to 40 years old, Abraham Lincoln was considered a failure, he could not organize something worthwhile, no matter what he undertook. How many talented writers said no - hundreds of times, but they still wrote and did something. Even this letter and possible comments in the post is the beginning of your journey. Whatever they are, people's words, they should not stop you, but just the opposite, motivate you.
5.I advise you to read motivational books: Joe Vitale, John Kehoe, Napoleon Hill, Ronda Burn, Jack Canfield, spouses Hicks, Charles Enel and others. You will see that many people achieve their goals not because of chance or coincidence, but only because of work, determination and concentration. And almost all successful people repeatedly received their bruises and bumps like all other people. They succeeded because they did not stop and did not betray their dream.
6.As for the site. I do not think that you need this in the first place. This will take a lot of effort - technical support, ext. expenses for hosting, domain, service. You can make your page on LiveJournal or a blog, post your works there, using it as a repository, especially since there are many of your like-minded people. Now there are a lot of people writing poems and stories. You need to become familiar with your community. Something to stand out. As an example, Artemy Lebedev. I do not presume to judge him as a designer, but you must admit that in the first place he made himself as a person, design is secondary. He is Lebedev, and then a designer.
Good luck