Makin’ It Big!

If I had a quarter for every time I’ve thought or said the words, “When I’m a bestselling author,” or “When I hit it big,” or “When I sell the movie rights,” I’d have enough quarters to take an Alaskan cruise.

Wannabe writers like me are thinking it all the time – don’t lie, I know you do. That’s the dream – to be the “big” writer, to be the name that people recognize on a book cover, to be at the top of a massive fandom, to be bombarded with fan mail, fan art, and fan fiction.

Sadly, few of us will hit the big time. For every writer that makes it, at least a thousand don’t. It’s like Hollywood: for every actor with a gig, there’s a hundred more without. But what’s a writer to do? Look at those astronomical odds, shudder, call it quits, and hide under the bed?

Nah, I’ll keep trudging. I’m going to keep writing despite wherever my career goes. Maybe I’ll stay at the lowly level where I’m at. It’s cool. I can work a normal job like the rest of the country. Or, maybe, if I keep working, I’ll achieve that life-time goal of James Patterson-level fame and fortune. Of course, anyone who’s played The Sims knows you can’t get to the Lifetime Achievement easily; it takes time. You’ve got to master the skills required first.

So, keep on dreaming. Don’t let the odds of winning stop you from playing. If fame and fortune is your goal, try a different career path. If you write because you love it, well then the fame and fortune shouldn’t matter. Odds are, you won’t get there. But whatevs, right?