There’s Nothing Wrong with Writing for Pure Enjoyment
Because not everyone on here wants to make it a profession.
To all of those who do write for a living, I have great respect for you.
Even making a few dollars off of writing is no easy achievement, and it takes much experience and patience — as well as time and nuance — to be a writer. And for that, I applaud you.
But I also believe that you don’t need to be pursuing writing as a career in order to be a writer.
We see so many stories about how to be “successful” or how to earn thousands with writing. And, personally, they are more distressing than motivational.
Perhaps I get ahead of myself sometimes — a bit too ambitious. I see other people’s success and I want to do the same, out of admiration and enlightenment.
Then, I get obsessed over my stats.
Yup — I bet my stats page has more views than the article I posted a few days ago.
I assume that many writers online would have had a period of fixation over the traction their stories are getting. It makes sense — we want to share our ideas and creativity with others. Honestly, I wouldn’t be mad if I got more exposure.
I’ll admit that it’s easy to get distracted from why I started writing in the first place. As someone who began writing purely for the sake of wanting to express myself and to find a creative outlet, I do at times wonder if I should consider taking writing more seriously — by putting my articles behind the paywall.
One reason I chose not to have any of my writing behind the paywall is that I know, as of right now, I won’t earn much from it. Gaining readership, at this point in my writing journey, is more important and will provide me with a greater chance of receiving substantial income in the future (if I ever choose to do so). Putting my articles behind a paywall limits my reach to different readers.
Another reason is — and more importantly — I do not want to earn money from writing. Not any time soon, at least.
The idea of turning writing into a profession is enticing. Very enticing. Being able to work on what I am passionate about for a living… That’s the dream, right?
But that’s also why I don’t want to make it a career.
There is a lot of pressure that comes with putting your creations out into the world while also trying to earn a few dollars from it. You want to stay authentic yet simultaneously capture people’s attention. There are some things that are more popular than others, that’s just how it is.
Furthermore, aiming to earn an income from creating any type of content might take some of the fun out of it. When you put in a lot of time and effort working on a piece but you don’t get the earnings you anticipated — it can be quite discouraging. Then, when you seek awards from your work, you write less for the enjoyment and more for the money.
I’m sure there are many people out there who do really well and can stay true to themselves when they write for a living. That’s great, and I’m really happy for them.
But there are some other people, like me, who can’t write for their own pleasure while also striving to reach great figures without being derailed by stress — and that’s okay.
My point is not to discourage anyone from taking on writing as a career. If that works for you, then that’s terrific.
But I just want those of us who don’t intend on turning writing into their profession, or using it to gain any monetary awards, to remember that this decision is terrific too.
Don’t feel pressured to follow what others are doing. As long as you aren’t harming yourself or anyone else, then you do what’s right for you and what fulfills you.
You do you — because no one should tell you otherwise.
