If you write for a living, don't forget why you became a writer in the first place...
This is a really cool week for my Substack publication! On Friday, I’m going to start sharing the nonfiction love story of my two best friends. I wrote and edited this story after a long interview with each of them, and my friends have been gracious enough to allow me to share much of their story with you all. I’m also expecting the hardback printed copies of the novella to arrive in the mail this week. I’m so excited!
Working on this project reminded me why I decided to become a career writer in the first place. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the fear of failure, money concerns, or marketing attempts that I blind myself to the beauty of being able to write for a living. Today, I want to encourage each of you to recenter your thinking around your passion for the art of writing.
What got you into writing in the first place?
While you may have found monetary success in freelancing, I’m guessing you originally got into the writing scene because you loved the art of writing. Whether your true passion is for historical pieces, academic essays, fantasy or fiction books, poetry, or any other type/genre of literature, you didn’t just wake up one day and work hard on your writing with no goal, dream, or passion in mind.
If your sole purpose in writing is to make money, all I can say is good luck. This post isn’t for you. It won’t help you.
If your goal for writing is to explore your passion and MAYBE get lucky enough to make some money on the side, you’ve come to the right place. I’m talking to you.
Try not to lean so heavily into the making money part of writing that you forget the far-more-important passion that got you started in the first place.
Look, I get it. I need to pay rent, put food on the table, and keep the lights on, too. It’s a scary world out there, and you need money to live in it. I really do get it. But I’m here to argue that recentering on your passion for writing makes it easier to live and make money as a writer.
Here’s why.
If you write about something you’re passionate about, you’re not going to get burned out nearly as fast. Disclaimer: It is a complete lie that you won’t ever get burned out if you write about something that you love. You absolutely still can get burned out, whether from working way too much, not adding enough variety to your workload, or consistently finding less fulfillment in your outcomes than you expect. However, it is true that you can work longer, faster, and more efficiently if you choose to write about something that you’re passionate about.
Ask yourself: What do you love writing about? Does your publication, book project, or copywriting niche play to that passion as much as possible?
You’re going to try harder to succeed if you’re passionate about your niche. If you love what you write about, you’ll try harder to make it work. You’ll try harder to find a way to monetize your writing, too, because the idea of being able to work all day on something you love and still pay rent is so incredible. If you don’t like a particular form of writing, but you center on it because you think it’s more profitable than something you enjoy, you’ll end up just as bored as if you’d stuck with the 8-5 you hated!
You will be more creative and have better ideas in a subject you’re passionate about. Your brain will think more deeply about the things you love than the things you don’t. This is especially true late at night when you’re trying to sleep (😂!).
You’ll live a more fulfilled life with a better work-life balance. You can be more productive in less time if you love what you write about - you can write 10x as fast when you’re excited and just want to get the words down! The extra time you accumulate writing about something you love allows for more free time, family time, and personal development.
If you weren’t doing so already, I hope I’ve sufficiently convinced you to write about something you have a passion for. I’m so proud of each and every writer that I come across who clearly loves what they write about!
To be a literary world-changer, you have to lean into your passion. Channel your love of writing into something specific and never forget the excitement you felt at first.
You’ve got this.
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