Once upon a time there was a showgirl who wanted to be an opera singer. So she married a millionaire, got him to buy her an opera house, and.. bingo.
Her dream had come true, and mine’s about to as well.
If somebody offered you a steady income to work at whatever you wanted… accountant, sea captain, couch comfort tester… what work would you do?
I’ve always thought that I’d write. Well, now, thanks to thrifty parents, about a hundred years in the most boring career in the universe, and a house sale… I think I’m finally going to get that job.
Like the showgirl, I won’t have earned my stripes through years of plugging away until some perspicacious (or just fed up) editor decides to give me a go. I won’t have struggled through obscurity until finally writing pays. I’m taking the easy way.
Unlike the real deals, I’ll have to prove I can do this, not just to everyone who knows me, but to myself. I’ll have to wear the label of a dilettante for as long as it takes. The title’writer’ has to be earned, I guess.
Still, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time and now I can. So cover your ears, people, I’m about to sing at the top of my lousy voice!
butimbeautiful 
Good luck to you and congrats on the opportunity. I was with one of my sons this weekend and a friend asked me about being an attorney and I explained it wasn’t ever a passion for me. It was a job that paid the bills. She asked me what I would rather do if I could. Well, I said, I wish I could figure out a way to make a living writing. Good luck!!! I’m going to give it a more serious try in the next few years as I move to retirement. Because then I won’t need to produce a significant income — it will just be supplemental to my pension.
It’s an interesting question to ask yourself – what would you do if you could do anything and get paid – astronaut, plumber, random street interviewer, rapper…I’m glad you’re going to give writing a real go. I’m not sure if making it pay really matters or not, once you have another income, but if you do make it pay, I guess that’s your audience saying, yep, you’re good enough for us to buy your stuff. Which does matter – I’m just not sure how much it matters.
Good wishes and congratulations. 🙂
Thank you Lynette. I’m a very lucky person indeed, so far, and I really do know it!
You ound like a good candidate for a new volume??? Good luck to you https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_in_the_Key_of_Z
Really interesting compilation! It reminds me of when I went to the MONA art gallery earlier this year and they had all this art from ‘ordinary’ people, often people who had mental health issues or were outsiders in some way – it was just great. A new volume? Of crackpot prose, perhaps?:)
Well done! I am also doing a big launch. 3 books out on 24 September and new website on barbdrummond.com. Hope to keep in touch.
Are you, Barb? Drop me an email and I’ll help you promote them as far as I can, if you would like. I have a monthly newsletter that goes out to about 1500 more or less engaged readers, and I’m always looking for extra quality stuff to send them.
Thanks so much! Will do.
what’s your email address?
englishrose659@hotmail.com. Sorry for the delay, I’ve had a sore throat!