To Write of Not to Write

As a restaurant consultant I very often counseled people “who always wanted to have a restaurant” against actually going into the restaurant business. The failure rate of inexperienced ownership in the restaurant business is two out of three. Even coming from this background I still am amazed at the host of mankind that glibly says, “I’ve always wanted to write.” When someone finds out that I am a writer, the “IAWTW” comment just spills out. My standard response now is, “Well, why don’t you?” I mean, come on? You don’t need a license to write. It doesn’t take huge cash investment. About the only thing required is a masochistic nature that enjoys rejection. Think about how easy it is to “write” today using computers stuffed with word processor programs, spell checkers, grammar programs, and write by number programs. Then we have the Internet that puts research at our fingertips right there in our bedrooms. Compare this to Charles Dickens who wrote thousands of pages using only a feather quill and ink well. Or Hemingway who, I’m told, wrote 385 words per day on a tablet with a pencil. So start writing, or quit talking about it. I don’t know to whom I should attribute these statistics, but recently I read on the Internet that 3 in 1,000 writers ever get published. Of those, only 1 in 10 ever makes enough money to call it “a living.” Let me run the numbers for you. That computes to a 0.03% chance that you will succeed financially as a writer. Don’t let these statistics discourage you, though, because we writers are told that we should not be writing for fame and fortune. Instead, we should be writing because we can’t not write – whatever that means. The Internet that provides so much research potential, also provides enormous opportunities for solace with its thousands of websites and Blogs brimming with “how to” and “hand holding” for wannabee writers. So the question then becomes, "To write or not to write?" My gut feeling is you might do better going into the restaurant business.

You can read Bill Stephens' novel, Horizons Past, for free on href="http://www.horizonspast.com">www.HorizonsPast.com He has written for Heasrt, Murdoch, and Harte-Hanks newspapersfor over 20 years and published several short stories

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