Wow. Ten years of blood, sweat, and tears. Accompanied by shouts of success, tears of joy and years of growth and love. What more could we ask?
We started out as writers seeking to be published. We were seeking the tricks of the trade and the secrets that would launch our careers as authors. We decided to share what we learned and by doing that, we have learned as well. And have been immensely blessed.
But there have been times when we had to make serious decisions about writing. My topic today to fit in with the theme of ten is to list ten reasons not to write.
WHAT???
I hear you screaming at me. Smile
I personally have not faced all ten of these reasons, but have faced several and I think it is important to realize that there might be times in your life or writing career when you need to make the decision not to write or to push on through.
What I hope to accomplish by doing this is to reassure you that making that decision doesn’t mean the end of things. It could mean big changes. It could mean you are ready for a new direction. It could mean that maybe God had other plans that He needs you to do more than your dream of writing and becoming published. And it could mean that He does intend or you to write, but maybe not at this time.
And sometimes, it may seem like the time not to write and that you really need to push through those times and write anyway. That has happened to many of us also.
But circumstances and difficult times do come up. So how do we tackle them so that we know what course to follow?
Let’s look at those ten reasons and see what we can do.
1. You lose your editors and the new ones you have been assigned to don’t like your writing style.
This happened to me. I was writing for Harlequin, Time Warner, and Rosen Publishing and lost all three editors at the same time. My new editors did not like my writing and were devoted to their own “stable”. This was in the eighties and in the days before we had agents to help us through those muddy waters. So I stopped writing for reasons that worked for me. (See number two below)
Many of my writing friends at the time went on to be best selling authors. Many authors have lost their editors and they just kept on writing until they found another editor that liked their work. Now, today, with agents, that process is a lot easier. You have an agent watching your back and helping you through it.
Lesson. You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
2. Another job comes up that you really have a desire to pursue. That job takes too much out of you and you cannot continue to write.
As mentioned above, I wasn’t getting anything published, so hubby insisted I go back to teaching and finish that career, get my retirement and then I could write what I wanted. Oh, I did not want to do that. I prayed for the Lord to give him wisdom. The harder I prayed, the more he insisted until I finally got the message. LOL. I did go back to teaching. That job took so much out of me that I didn’t write. However, my students all won writing awards. And I now have a wonderful retirement and don’t have to write things I don’t want to write just for the income, which is what I was doing before. Looking back, (isn’t hindsight great?) I see that I was accomplishing good with all the students I taught, the staff I worked with, and time with family.
3. You need to work a job that pays more money than you are making as an author. Maybe you’re the sole support for yourself and/or family.
I know several writer friends who work a day job and then write during early morning hours or late evenings. This is often what they need to do to support themselves and their family. You often hear the saying “Don’t quit the day job.” Well, this is important because most authors take a few years to build up to a decent income from their writing. Oh yes, there is that rare bird that makes a best seller hit on their first venture out as an author, but the reality is, it takes years of sweat and tears and persistence to make a decent income.
Often day jobs take so much out of you that you really don’t have any energy or motivation left. That happened to me. Teaching was extremely draining and truthfully that was so because I was a good teacher and worked hard with those students. I stopped writing and put that dream aside until I retired.
I remember Nora Roberts telling us at a workshop how she found a job selling insurance in Sears stores where she sits at a desk most of the day and rarely was approached. She said it was a great job to have because she could write on the job. Many others have had day jobs that allowed time to write or at least think about your plot in your head. So they don’t need to quit writing.
I have friends who work 55-60 hour weeks and still get up early and write for an hour every morning. They end up with two novels per year. Now that’s dedication and persistence. But it’s doable if you have the motivation and stamina.
Not all of us do have that stamina and motivation. So yes, maybe you quit writing until you have retired or don’t need that job anymore.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
4. You have everything you need, like money, lifestyle, etc and just aren’t motivated to write. It is after all, difficult work.
Strange as it sounds, this happened to me. I did finish my teaching job and retired and frankly am having difficulty motivating myself to write. My hubby declared his main job as a retiree was to be in charge of fun and he is very good at it. We do so many activities, travel a lot and interact with so many people and groups, that I am just as tired from all the activity as I used to be from working. LOL
But I do persist and have learned to get up early before hubby gets up and I can do like the day job friend and write for an hour a day. A book does get finished. However, quite frankly there have been times when we are so involved in projects that I don’t get to the writing.
Does that make me a bad person? Goodness, I hope not. My spiritual mentor in my early days as a Christian used to tell me, “whatever you are doing is what God had planned for you to do.” That took away so much of the guilt.
5. You have a family member or friend that needs you i.e. elder care, handicapped or disabled person.
This definitely happened to me. When I retired, I started telling people that I retired from teaching, but have a new job in elder care. All of my parents, (in laws, step parents, birth parents) and a couple friends that named me as their trustee developed every health issue you can think of and I had to deal with it. Cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s dementia, several bypass heart surgeries, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. I met Karen O'Connor in a conference in San Diego. She wrote a book called “Getting Old Ain’t For Wimps.” There is definitely truth in that. check out her website for more great tips for dealing with aging.
Dealing with all of these health issues and elders who needed my help all at the same time about did me in. I didn’t write during the most intense years of elder care. I was too emotionally drained to think straight let alone write.
Some of my friends do have elder care issues and still manage to write. I give them kudos because they have to have super strength and motivation to push on through all of the pain and heartache involved in elder care. But they do it. Just because I couldn’t do both, doesn’t mean I am weak in any way. It is the way I’m made. Many of you have more stamina and drive. Thank the Lord for that. But don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do both.
I was thankful that I was retired and could spend the time to help my elders. I didn’t begrudge the writing time. I just figured the writing time wasn’t now. And when the elders passed, I spent a year building back my strength and then began writing again. That was me.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
6. You become sick, handicapped or disabled.
Fortunately, I have not had to face this issue personally. But I have friends who have and still do. If you are undergoing chemo treatments for cancer, there are going to be days you are not going to be able to write. If you broke your arm, wrist or hand, there are going to be days you can’t type. If you suffered a stroke, there are going to be weeks and months before you can write again.
I have friends who have gone through serious trials, but upon recovery, went back to their computer and are writing again. Their illness may have stopped their writing for a time period, but most of the time it hasn’t meant a permanent leave of absence from their desk.
There are friends though that, bless their souls, will probably never write again. There is no shame in that. Life happens.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
7. You start a family and have children that demand your time and leave you no time or energy for writing.
Many of you young writers have this issue to deal with. Young children demand a tremendous amount of time and energy. They have been given to you to care for and I’m sure God is pleased if you stop writing to attend to their needs.
Some of you super moms still write anyway. I’ve met some who incorporate their writing time with their children. They become role models of persistence and hard work. That is wonderful and a blessing.
Not all of us are built that way. Each family and each set of children are different in their needs and demands. Each of us is different in our levels of energy to handle them. So if you stop writing to raise your children or as in some cases, grandchildren, don’t feel guilty. Your time will still come. Those children eventually grow up, go off to school, become writers themselves, etc.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
8. You don’t want to cater to the demand for an author to be involved in social media.
Oh my, this one hits hard. I really struggle with social media. I’m so busy with all the activities my husband gets us involved in that I treasure my moments to myself and want them for writing, not playing around on social media. Doing so steals so much of your time.
But social media presence is a requirement in this day and age of writing. With the loss of bookstores and the paradigm shift in the industry, you are going to need social media to get your name known.
You just have to carve time to include it as part of your writing dream. If it takes too much time or you don’t want to participate in social media for security reasons, you may decide not to write.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
9. You don’t have any more stories in you that you feel need to be told.
When I came back to write after retirement, Christian and wholesome novels were pretty well non-existent. Some popular secular authors like Francine Rivers and Robin Lee Hatcher were breaking inroads by switching genres and publicly declaring why they were doing that.
Many of us felt it a mission to get more clean and wholesome novels out there. Today, the Christian market has grown and is one of the best selling genres of romance.
This makes me wonder if my stories really need to be out there. Readers have a huge choice of wholesome novels to read these days. Yay!! What a blessing and I’m so thankful for that.
So maybe I will decide not to write anymore. Maybe there are other reasons the stories aren’t there. You might be called for other purposes.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
10. You want to retire from writing to pursue other interests.
Writing is a career and like other careers, a writer might feel the need to retire. As we age, we have less energy and maybe have other interests we feel led to pursue.
One talented artist friend of mine left his art. He had the gift of healing and he devoted his time to that instead. He felt led and called to do so.
You may not have a particular calling that you are led to pursue, but may simply be ready to stop working as a writer with all its demands. We each are made differently and have different motivations, energy levels and desires. So embrace that and be thankful for what you have accomplished to this point.
I do know writers who have continued to write until they were taken home. They had that calling. But like we have already pointed out, each one of us is different. Whether we retire or keep on writing, we will be doing what we are called to do.
Lesson: You can keep on writing and persist. Or maybe there is something else that you need to be doing. Either way, you are going to accomplish something.
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| Hubby and I on the beach in Maui, Hawaii earlier this month |
So what I wanted to impart today was the seed acceptance. We are all different and have our own individual needs and motivations. Embrace your own calling and pursue your own dreams. No matter what you decide to do, it will be right for you. Listen to that inner voice and trust the Lord to provide and guide.
To celebrate our birthday, I’ve baked several apple pies. In our family we order pie instead of cake because we love pies. And truthfully, I can bake a dynamite pie, but my cakes often become Grand Canyons. LOL
Hubby and I just returned from our fiftieth-anniversary celebration in Hawaii. (Yes, I know, our anniversary was in March, but we have been celebrating all year) I went to a local street fair and found this lovely Kindle/I Pad bag, made by the locals. The street fair was marvelous. Permits are not needed to set up a booth so no restrictions. You would not believe how many booths were set up with people promoting Christian churches and ministries. There was one booth where people were lined up for healing prayers. I was astounded because we often see that kind of thing prohibited in public.
Comment today and win this lovely handmade bag and an autographed copy of one of my books. Let us know how you’ve dealt with decisions to write or not write. Readers, we welcome your comments as well. You may have faced difficult decisions also and can share how you dealt with them. One bag for a reader and one for a writer.
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| Aren't these bright and colorful? |
Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She is based in Arizona, but she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motorhome and enjoy the outdoors. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audio books at Audible. You can read more of Sandra's posts here.
