It’s in every writer’s DNA to want to have a book published but it’s not necessary to prove a writer’s worth. I make little money from my writing but I am still a professional and proud of it.
Writing can succeed on a big or small level. One of my best writing moments happened when two of my articles for the West Sacramento News-Ledger were printed on the front page, along with the photographs I had taken for them.
The News-Ledger is a small town weekly but it is the paper of record for the community and as such is a real newspaper, not some handout or advertising circular.
Through the Ledger I got to attend concerts, went to City Council meetings, interviewed teachers, and wildly drove a California Highway Patrol car through what the CHP Academy calls a skidpan, a flooded closed circuit track run at high speed. Their instructor pronounced me a natural.
My writing career has included many magazine articles, some national, two international, a self-published magazine, other newspaper articles, work for Catalogs.com, an odd assortment of contract work, a literary journal essay, and my still continuing writing and editing for Infocus Web Marketing in Vancouver.
While writing on telecom I was asked to appear at some length for an interview on the History Channel in an episode on Alexander Graham Bell. A few strangers later recognized me on the street and that was odd but satisfying. As was an obscure question that someone e-mailed me, saying that the Library of Congress thought I might know the answer.
It would be nice to have a book published but it wouldn’t pain me if that chance went by. I’m too old to chase a dream that depends on people I can’t trust. I only write for people that treat me fairly.
I’ve worked plenty of other jobs with horrible bosses, poor pay, and terrible hours. We all have. But I won’t put up with that with my writing. We all draw the line somewhere at what we accept. I’ve drawn my line. And if a book is beyond that line, so be it.
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