If you were given a choice would you prefer to be:
a. A full-time writer working under a nome de plume turning out smut that makes you a much better living than in your present occupation (I'm not talking riches).
OR
b. A niche writer who is highly esteemed within the fraternity of your chosen genre (SF, horror, Historical Romance, etc.), but not making a large amount of money from your efforts. On the plus side, you would be invited to all the conventions, feel part of a real community, adoring readers and their letters.
I would choose the latter. But I can be cavalier now; my working days are over. These days I don't need to make a living, feed my family. I no longer crave wealth. I am not so sure I would have given the same answer thirty years ago.
I'd be interested to hear what the other writers on Lush think — oldies and youngsters alike.
I am happy just to have Lush as an outlet and inspiration to write about a subject I love and enjoy. I don't need to be rewarded for doing something I enjoy.
Neither. I write for the pleasure of creation. I just hope to entertain readers here and not embarrass myself in the process.
I'd settle for being highly esteemed right here on Lush, so... given that THAT'S even beyond my reach, neither of your options are remotely realistic.
I'd easily choose either. I don't need to make much money at it. Just pay the rent.
If I HAD to choose, I'd go with b. Mostly I want the audience more than the money.
Indentured Grammar Fascist
Tough choice, Luca. I'd have to go with option b (especially if you are teaching writing courses at said conventions).
🎵Picture perfect, I paint a perfect picture...🎵
As a young man without a family as yet and hopes to being able to make enough to provide for them when I do get one, I'll go with option A.
MY Goals are not to write anymore. And think I can succeed here.
In the world's harsh wear and tear many a very sincere attachment is slowly obliterated.
Είμαι ταξιδιώτης τόσο στο χρόνο όσο και στο διάστημα
Neither. I’m honestly burned out on writing. I don’t feel the itch anymore. I get ideas but have no real pull to actually gestate them. Plus, the stress of being a prof writer is not something I’d want.
To pick one of your choices, I think I'd go with option A.
Now for the truth of it. I like what I do for a living and I think I wouldn't like to write as much if I had to do it to get paid.
My goal is to write most every day. Daily but gently. Between yesterday and today, I'm up to 900 words on my first Lush story.
I write mainly for me, as weird as that might be for someone who can't seem to stop writing. I think I've over something like 370,000 words across all my stories (Yes, my OCD is telling me to get the exact number). But I really do it for me. I have OCD and a slight case of attention deficit which is one hell of a combination! I started writing to work on my focus and the ability to finish projects that I start.
As for your options, (b) sounds exciting, but I think I would prefer (a). If I could make a living writing, I think I would be happy! But I would prefer the anonymity of a non-de-plume to protect my sanity.
I love Lush for giving me much of that. I get to write for me and I also get to meet people who enjoy some of the things I do and share my writing. The feedback has been both educational and, for the most part, quite positive. I am very happy submitting stories and even still feel a thrill when a story makes it through the process and I hit the submit button.
Meddle Not In The Affairs of Dragons, for we are Crunchy and Good with Ketchup!
Sitting at the edge of darkness
I hated writing in school. Was forced into a creative writing program and I basically just fluffed my way through it.
I write for me, though have submitted a few for comp. entries as the subject either intrigued or challenged me. I have so much written that no one will ever see, i call them notes to myself. Those items have helped me keep my sanity, what there is of it, during some trying times. Going back and reading them after the storm has passed has also helped to put things in perspective. I have found it an outlet for life's daily frustrations.
A sounds great as I do tend to like to do stuff without much fanfare, however, I am not sure A would be the proper choice either as if it became a job, something I was forced to do again...
I mostly like what I do for a living, but the shy introvert in me would make choice B a near impossibility.
So here I am, stuck between Lush and a soft place.
Fortune, or fame. What a choice.
I guess I'll go with fortune, mostly because I don't want to appear before adoring multitudes, be besieged by drooling groupies, panting to …
Oh, wait…
An incredibly talented, but modest Polar Bear, often mischievous, but never malicious!
I like parts of both
Although somewhere down the road I do hope to be making money doing what I love
Though not with writing erotica most likely
also not super certain I'd want to do convention's that sounds emotionally draining.
So i guess my goal is to write non erotica
Make the money
And be one of those aloof hermit writers
I'd take the second option... Hell my current goal right now is to just get some kind of reader feedback. Writing to mostly silence is quite frankly disheartening.
I'm with Kistin - neither of those options appeal to me! Being a full-time professional writer would become a chore and take all the fun out of it. Nor do I want to be stuck in a niche with a specific genre.
For me it's a fun hobby and I just feel the need to get some strange stories out of my head. I enjoy the technical challenge and the escapism. I do like finding out that that others are turned on by what I write so of the two options I would go for (b).
I have hated my job, but as a single Mom had to do the responsible thing and keep it as it pays the bills. But, I would love to write full time under a pseudoname - Option A. I typically shy away from a lot of in-person attention. I enjoy interacting with authors, readers online, but sometimes even online feels overwhelming to me and I need to hibernate a little. I started writing as a therapy of sorts, but it has brought me tremendous joy and helped distract me from difficult realities like a mom with alzheimers and civil unrest and the coronavirus.
Honestly, neither option appeals to me at the moment. There are more important things in life for me than Lush, although Lush is part of my life now. Money has never been and prayerfully never will be the goal of my life. I have enough and have no desire to have more.
However, my writing goal would be quality over quantity. I have the ability to turn out some stories that I'm very proud of and some stories I'm ashamed of. My writing goal is to be more consistent and to learn to be a better writer with each succeeding story.
That is an interesting question. It is a difficult one for me to answer. I was poor for years and did not like it at all. Not that I am rich now. If not making much money meant I had enough in my pocket to live somewhere decent, secure a modest future, and help others in need, write in my niche, which would be erotica lol. I have not desire to be super rich but I don't want to be super poor. If it is hand to mouth wondering if I am eating top ramen next week, I am writing best selling pulp smut.
In terms of a "goal" for my writing I post here, it is multi-faceted. It is a big stress reliever for me to write what I do. I just love the FF and FFM genre (not FMF genre). I do enjoy people enjoying my writing. I really appreciate when a woman messages me that I really was on point in my writing or it really did arouse her or that my take on the feelings and emotions were right on. Being a man writing FF and what I am going for in the FFM genre, it is risky as I am trying to dial in on what a woman may be thinking, feeling, and experiencing. I am not trying to write something in FF and FFM that is "just" porn, which is easy for a man to slip into when those topics are written about.
