For the Love or Money?

September 8, 2009 in Journal with 4 Comments

There’s a fork in the road that every serious writer eventually comes to: do I write for myself or for the market, for passion or paycheck? You may not have to ask that question now, but you eventually will if you’re set on being a career writer. My opinion is that passion is the staying power and, because it is, you have to write the kinds of stories that you love.

  • http://www.brittonpeele.com Britton Peele

    But Kevin, how does this jive with your previous post/upcoming contest about being “The next Ted Dekker”? ;)

    That said, I agree with you wholeheartedly on this issue. But I wonder… It’s OK to write for both reasons, right? Because I personally write because I love it and because it’s something I’m good at, so I want to write whether it ever makes me a lot of money or not. But I DO want to, eventually, be able to support myself (and my family) through writing alone.

    When that’s the case, do you think you have to make decisions like, “This is what I’m going to write for the love of it, and this is what I’m going to write to pay my bills,” or would you advice writing what you love and praying it works out?

  • KSK

    Hey Britton,

    Good question. I think it is OK to right for both reasons. I know people who pay their bills by being wordsmiths. Some of them love it, some of them don’t. Just like I know people who pay their bills by being accountants. Some love it, others don’t.

    My point is more about authenticity. A lot of people waste time trying to guess the direction of the wind by chasing what was big yesterday or what worked for someone else, as if there’s some market magic in there. If you do that, all you’ll ever be is a “me too” writer. What you’ve got to do is figure out what kind of stories make you come alive and write those. Your love for your kind of stories will be the staying power.

    So, you can do both, but you need to have a voice that is uniquely yours, not someone else’s. Make sense?

  • http://www.brittonpeele.com Britton Peele

    Yep, makes sense. Thanks. Glad to have your thoughts on the matter.

  • http://www.FictionAddict.com Jake Chism

    Well said Kevin. Loving this blog!