Recently a friend of mine sent me an excerpt from an article. It stated that freelance writing was one of the top 5 high-paying home businesses. There was a quote from a writer who said he’d made almost $50K in his first year of business. When I was starting out I had that same goal. My mistake was mentioning that goal to someone I’d met who’d been in business for 20 years who said she thought my goal was unrealistic.
Based on that response, I scaled back my expectations and silently beat myself up for being so ambitious. Since she had been in business for a couple of decades, she obviously knew more than I did, didn’t she? She proved that what I’d heard all along was correct – you can’t make any money as a writer.
Fast forward three years and though I’ve gained confidence in my writing, I’m just starting to accept that professional writer does not have to equal “starving artist.” Though I've had some anxieties about leaving a steady paycheck (well, as steady as a paycheck can be these days) for a life of never being sure how much will come in every month. It’s a high risk way of living, but certainly not without rewards.
