Albert Schweitzer was a smart man. He said:
“Do something everyday for which you don’t get paid.”
I do this blog everyday and sometimes I’m asked if I make any money writing it. All last year I struggled with Google Analytics and ways to “market” my blog better. I came to the conclusion that word of mouth advertising is the best. After all, the people who share and recommend reading it, sincerely like it. It’s not about the stats. My family knows I spend time everyday writing this and they read it just to make sure they know what I’m up to (I sometimes scare them). I picture them reading it and then breathing a sigh of relief that: 1. I’m okay and 2. I’m not embarrassing them in any way. Lol!
For reasons such as these, I sometimes feel spending time on this blog that I don’t make any money on is frowned upon. Really, why would I put all this time into something I don’t get paid for? Oddly, this is the first thing that I’ve ever spent this much time on that I didn’t get paid for.
Some people just don’t understand the need to write. They don’t get how there can be so much in one’s mind that it has to have a place to go where it can be organized and analyzed. This blog does that for me. I originally started this blog for that very reason. There was so much trapped in my brain and it couldn’t find it’s way out. I wanted to be a writer, but after 13 months of trying, I hadn’t written even one word out of just plain fear. Fear of showing anyone what was in my heart and on my mind. I almost gave up. This blog was my last ditch effort.
This blog was two years old on September 20th and it has done way more than just get me writing. It has taught me how to write. It has taught me how I write. It has given me a place to experiment with words and people’s reactions to them. It has erased the fear of putting my heartfelt thoughts out there for all to see. It has grown me a thick skin and taught me to really appreciate and embrace when people don’t agree with me or even like what I have written. I have an interesting quote that was posted on Facebook by The Book Doctors that I just love, respect, and hang onto. It says:
“Writers shouldn’t fear criticism. Instead they should fear silence. Criticism is healthy. It gets people thinking about your work and, even better, it gets them talking and arguing. But as for silence – it is the greatest killer of writers. So if you hate a book and want to hurt it – don’t talk about it. And if you hate my books – please, for God’s sakes, shout it from the hills!”
~ Robert Fanney
One other thing happened with this blog in it’s two years of life. People began reading it and getting help with living life from it. That, to me, is a gift greater than any dollar value I could ever receive from words I have written. I don’t write to make money. I don’t aspire to make money from writing. I don’t need to care about the statistics of how many read it. I sincerely believe that those who need it will somehow be led to read it. My words are a gift from a Higher Power and I believe they are meant to help others, not garner income for me. Some authors would probably chastise me for that statement, but most that I know would not.
As a result of this blog, I have written 4 picture books and three chapters of a novel. If I do happen to ever get a book contract for my picture books, that would be great, but only because my words would now be able to reach and help children, not because I would get paid for them. Money is a secondary bonus that maybe God would feel I deserve, but it is certainly not the reason I write.
And so, as another day goes by, Albert certainly knew his stuff, money has its proper place in life, and…I have written.
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