The Life of the New Fiction Writer

Many people fantasize about being an author. They dream of seeing their name on the book's cover, their photo (with digital enhancements) on the back cover, and their name on the New York Times' Best Sellers list. What they don't dream about is the hard work that comes along with the label "professional writer."

Although some people have a natural talent for putting thoughts down on paper, most of those who try to write find themselves faced with the blank reality of an empty sheet of paper or a wordless computer screen. Can they create the alternate world of fiction where characters come alive? If the answer is yes, then the real work begins.

Once the decision of writing has been made, the aspiring author needs to begin an education of the business. Within the fiction venue, lie the subcategories of writing. Will the new author write mainstream women's fiction, thrillers, crime dramas, sci-fi, or romances? More choices than these abound, and subcategories exist within these areas as well. Normally, however, the budding author knows where his interests lie. If in doubt, he can look to the kinds of books he likes to read. If he reads a lot of suspense dramas, he's more likely to enjoy writing suspense books instead of romances.

Now that the easy part is decided, the beginning writer starts the hard work.

Can he afford to quit his day job to write? Unlike how authors are portrayed in the movies or on television, it is the rare, lucky writer who makes enough to keep home and heart intact. Most writers work for a living in a regular nine-to-five position and write at night or on the weekends. Writing, therefore, is a second job for most authors.

One of the most common failings of a new writer is the lack of commitment to his new second job. After working a forty-plus hour job, only the truly dedicated writers will stay up all night and sacrifice their weekends to write. The dream, faced with this harsh new reality, starts to fade.