14 June 2008

My Dream Job As a Writer

I wish I were a writer. I am not a writer right now because I don't think writing is an easy career. It is a fun hobby but I have heard many horror stories of writers trying to get their books published.

The reason why writing is hard I think is very simple: how can books compete with TV and the Internet? TV and Internet offer a barrage of high-quality entertainment at low or no cost. It will be very hard for any writer to compete against that. Plus being a writer is not particularly hard. Being a dentist is hard because you need good grades to go to dental school. However, just about any bored housewife can start writing. All you need is a computer with a word processor and even if you don't have that then pen and paper will do. As a result, the supply of writers is much higher than the demand, which ensures intense competition among suppliers.

I hope one day I will be able to make a transition into a career as a writer once I am financially secure. I will write what it is I want to write about, and even if it fails to be profitable I can still live off my investments. What I would absolutely hate is to write about someone just because I think it might be popular. I want to write what I want to write about and if a publisher thinks one of my many pieces could be a commercial success, together we can take the risk and see whether the investment pays off.

I don't necessarily have to write fiction. I can write a non-fiction book that teaches other people things. I can also write for websites and newspapers. The possibilities are endless.

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