Good morning all you wonderful people out there. As I sit here consuming my morning cup of life I am thinking that we will discuss writing today. What makes a writer? How do you become a writer?
So, let me tell you my story.
For better than thirty years I spent many stolen moments a day writing. I have never been one to set aside a special time for writing, but rather I would write whenever I had the time. Sometimes in the strangest places. When I first started back before the day of word processors I actual wrote most of my stuff on paper with a pen or pencil in composition books or on the well known yellow legal pad. As time went on I finally picked up a used Royal portable type writer. But most of my writing was still done by hand sometimes even on napkins, and then later typed up.
At first I attempted the old standard way of publishing. By typing up the manuscript, boxing it up, taking it to the post office, buying the postage and then sending it off to the publisher. Only to be told, that it was not up to their standard or I did not have any published work, or just not quite what they were looking for, but mostly just no return answer at all. It actually got to the point when I looked forward to receiving a rejection slip. At least then I knew someone had actually looked at it.
Then at some point I quit doing all that. By this time I had a computer and believe it or not Word Perfect software. So I continued to write, but now I saved my writing into a file on the Machine.
A little later on I decided to look into the original self-publishing system, also known as Vanity Printing, but thankfully I did not go that route, mainly due to the high out of pocket cost. After all I had a wife and two children, two dogs, and several birds to support.
So even though I continued to write I pretty much had given up on ever getting any of my work published. But that was okay because I found that I truly loved to write and tell the stories. It was like painting a picture with words.
Time past by and I got older and then finally I arrived at retirement age. After twenty years of working the midnight shift for our local government I retired. The first couple of months were fine then reality set in and I decided that I was not ready to just do nothing. I do not play golf, and there is just so much fishing you can do before you have to start cleaning and cooking them. Not that that is a bad thing, but I grew up eating a lot of fish, and it really is not my favorite food.
So I decided to go back to school. I enrolled in a local college and went for a degree in Network Engineering and Administration. Due mostly to my love of computers and technology.
Now you may wonder what this all has to do with writing, but bear with me I’m getting to it.
During my time at the college I had to take an English Composition class and had to write essays and keep a journal. This got me restarted in writing. It also gave me someone to check out my writing and show me where I was going wrong in my composition. It was helpful that I was actually older than my instructor also and that he was without a doubt one of the coolest dudes I have had the honor meeting in my six plus decades of life.
We seemed to be kindred spirits, both of us Rebels at heart.
After graduation I discovered another avenue for my writing, this was a print on demand press, but again the cost was more than I wanted to do. Then I discovered the Amazon Kindle Program. The learning curve on the formatting was not too difficult and the price was right, free.
This brings us to my first published book. “The Book on Evil, Wicked, Mean, & Nasty: A Whimsical Guide To Payback And Revenge.”. A book that had been in the making for well over a decade. The next two, “The Fine Art of Getting Even” and “The Ancient Wisdom of an Old Shadow Warrior” came together in record time, Even though they also had been started years earlier. The next thing I knew I was selling books all over the world!
Then a new one popped into my mind and using the skills that I had learned during my English Composition class I was able to put all of the research together and compose it into a working book in a rather short period of time.
When I published it, “The Plucking of the Golden Age Goose” I made the statement that I thought I was done writing for the year.
Then about a week ago another idea crept into the dark place that I call my mind. Remembering that I had said that I was done writing for the year, I decided that I would only write down some notes so that I would not forget the idea, yes I am at that age now.
Then 17,285 words later I realized that I had another book on my hands. So get ready you all, it is coming soon. “The Internet Business Safari Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs or How not to be a Victim of a “Work at Home” Business Scam.” I honestly think this will be one of my best works. If things keep going the way they have been. I expect to launch it sometime in October of this year.
Well I guess that covers it for today. I hope you all have a wonderful productive day.
If you love to write, and have a passion for telling the story, then just keep writing, the profit is not always in dollars and cents. The completion of a piece that you can call your own is a reward in and of itself.
Write On!
May the Great Architect of the Universe watch over you and keep you safe as you proceed down the path of life.
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