WordClerks

Do you love to write or do you write to live?



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Do you love to write or do you write to live?

Since we are all here on WordClerks I am going to make the assumption that most of the members here are content writers or are looking for content writers.

I’m just interested to know why everyone here writes. Is it because you love writing and you love the idea of making money by writing? Is it a passion of yours?

Or perhaps writing is a means to an ends? So you need to earn and you can write so you just write because you need to make a living?

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Cristian
Making money is definitely my main reason for writing, but when I first started it was pure passion, of course, I'm still passionate about writing, creating content, expressing my ideas and develop subjects on informing and helping others.

If I would ever have the time and I will no be worried about the money on the long run I would write fantasy novels or since fiction type content. I think as a writer, you also need to read a lot and love books, that's a key element for growing as a writer, you won't evolve if you don't read other people's work.



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Lynne
Oh yes, I totally agree with you Cristian, you need to have a passion for reading too in order to be a writer.

Like you say in order to write good content you also need to be able to read a lot while researching your content. My sister is a published sci-fi fantasy author Do you love to write or do you write to live? She writes some crazy stuff LOL



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treecko142
Of course, it really helps when you have a passion for what you're doing and you love writing in the first place. It's just a bonus to be earning money for something you care about.



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DenisP
"Making money is definitely my main reason for writing, but when I first started it was pure passion, of course,…"

I think that it's the same way for a lot of people. The thing is that unless you diligently pursued it as a career right from the get-go, got a degree and all that junk, finding financial stability through writing isn't an easy endeavor. It certainly doesn't happen overnight, and a lot of people are inclined to give up once the going gets tough. That's where the passion comes in. The passion is what keeps you going. If you enjoy doing something even when you're not making money from it, you'll have the patience to keep up with it to the point that you're finally making a profit.



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jeffreyjose48
I love to write. If you love writing, writing will love you back. You'll have a living if you love writing.



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EliteWriter
As a child I used to enjoy writing a lot, be it little books or compositions and essays. I do not recall hating such assignments. However I never thought I was going to end up making money from writing to be honest. It sort of occured to me at the time when I was looking for ways to make money online. It then eventually turned out to be something that I was good at considering how pleased my clients were with the content writing services I offered them. So I stuck with this and it is now more than 8 years since I started writing online. I thus consider it as a passion and a means to make money.



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Lynne
It is awesome when you can combine your passion with your work! I love the fact that I wake up excited to start work. It is the first time in my life that I don't consider my work to be work.



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DenisP
"It then eventually turned out to be something that I was good at considering how pleased my clients were with the content writing services I offered them."

I'm actually in a similar situation as you are. Throughout my years as a young adult, I had quite an easy time with writing assignments/exams in school. I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I don't think I ever received below an A on a single writing assignment, and I would often receive praise from my teachers. That being said, I never chose to make a career out of it, as I pursued graphic design instead. That didn't work out, and being in a financial rut, I decided to use what skills I had to get myself out of it, the main one being writing. And so, the rest is history.



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hitmeasap
Hey Lynne, this was a great question.
Honestly speaking, I've always hated to write. Spending time writing stuff have always seemed boring and I've never been interested at all, up until the last 5 or 6 years or so. - Perhaps more close to 6 or 7 years actually. However, during that time, I finally started to realize that I didn't hate to write. I was just not amused by writing "random" stuff so to speak. I did like to write forum posts and to write about things I was interested in, and that's why I still do it. That's why I've written ebooks, reports and that's the reason I've been active in several internet marketing forums over the years. It's interesting. I like doing that.

Also, one of the reasons is obviously my main business. I make money off my writing, so it's obviously a factor, but it's not the main factor.



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Lynne
That is a big thing for me too Andre. If I am passionate about the topic I can write loads and easily. If I have no interest in a topic I just can't write. There is nothing there.

I have had a few people want me to write content for them and I just said no. I need to write about what I need to write about. I don't think I would be able to write what other people wanted.



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hitmeasap
I hear you Lynne and I agree with you. It's very difficult for me to write anything at all, even a small reply might be too much for me to write in case I'm not familiar with the subject or interested in the topic. That being said, when I truly am interested, then I have no problems at all to write long, long replies or a few pages long articles about it.



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NicholasMukuha
A friend of ours once coined the phrase, that a pen is mightier than a sword. By writing, an individual gets an opportunity to share his ideas to the world and also read and learn from others' ideas. This is why I love writing. It allows my mind to travel far beyond the horizon, as I research and come up with content.

I will admit that sometimes I am pushed to do it because of money, but most of the times it's just because of passion. Money is just an added benefit gotten as a result of respectable men and women in society who feel it's good to appreciate the efforts of the writers.



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Barida
There is nothing wrong in doing it for the money. As long as the passion is still there, you can get higher in the art of writing. One good thing that I enjoy about writing is that you get to learn more about so many things in life which is really good as long as I am concerned. This is just one thing that I've come to realize that keeps us ahead of others.



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DarthHazard
I used to be someone that loved to write. When I was younger and still in school, around 8 or 9 years old, all I did was write mini books. I would always write a book, design a cover and then try to sell it to a family member. Of course, they always bought it because no one wanted to say no to a little kid selling a book Do you love to write or do you write to live? . But I just got bored of that after a while especially when I got my gaming console and my own laptop. I just didn't bother to write my own content anymore. Right now, I'm just writing to earn a bit of money on the side. It's not something I enjoy a lot and love but I don't hate it either.



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wiseagent
Hard choice, ins't it?

Well... I can say that it is 50% for each option for me. I mean, I write because I like it (by the way, I like it a lot) and also because it gives me some extra money (since this is not my "official" job).

So, I'm totally OK with both situations and I don't see any problem in that.



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iamawriter
This is something like that proverbial question - 'Do you eat to live or live to eat' (lol) I live to write and I certainly do not mind those cents jingling in my pocket in the process. That serves as an incentive for better writing.



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Judas2018
I'd say I love to write. It's been that way since I was younger. I used to always enjoy the assignments given to us in creative writing class when I was in elementary and Junior High school.



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ballyhara
Well, count me in. Writing's been really attractive to me, since I was young, however, never had the chance to improve on it. Just like you, writing assignments where my forte, but college killed that somehow, because I studied a very strict career. Right now, things changed, and I have to write to live, so here I am writing around to get some earnings haha.



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Judas2018
Well drawing and cartooning was my second love but college killed that for me so I guess we're sorta in the same boat. However - web design and screenplays share somewhat of a connection to art at times so I am not that far removed from it. I actually want to pick it back up some day for a future project.



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ballyhara
And that looks like a great idea. I've been always fascinated by drawing, specially cartoons, and I had some skills on copying those, but life happened, I chose another road, and I stopped that hobby. Hope you can pick it back up soon, and show some of your art here, that should be great.



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mildredtabitha
I love writing. I have been writing before when I had no idea I could earn from it. I now write expecting to earn from it especially when I write for other people. I also do not expect to write and then my work gets rejected because it is very discouraging.



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Judas2018
Not really. Your writing can be rejected for many reasons. It's not always your fault. Sometimes your writing is rejected because it might be too professional for an audience. If your work is that good - it usually means expensive. You may think you did a bang up job, but a buyer would think - "this person is really talented. If I feature an article of theirs on my blog just once - and then go back to the usual editorials - my audience might be left clamoring for more of the freelancers work. Which in the long run I won't be able to afford because it's so well done."

This is something freelancers face often. Doing such good writing work that blog owners reject it because they cannot afford you in the long term. So featuring one of your articles on their site raises the writing standard to a bar or level the blog owner knows they cannot maintain. Metaphorically? It's like a family drinking off brand Cranberry juice and then someone introduces them to Ocean Spray brand. They may like it - but the person buying the groceries would worry because if the family decides they prefer Ocean Spray brand from now on? That causes the household food budget to now increase. Something in the long run - they may not be able tolerate financially.



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mildredtabitha
Wow! I never knew someone's work could be rejected because they are 'too good'. I never thought about it in a positive way. This means that clients should start giving a clear reason when they reject an article. Many writers often feel they are not good enough when their article gets rejected.


I think the solution is to avoid writing for people who often reject the work.



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Judas2018
Being too good at something is actually a bad thing to employers who aren't willing to pay for talent. You see it in sports all the time. If a team believes a player has priced himself out of their pay range due to his talent or improved skills - they will look to trade said player for cheaper talent before his contract needs to be renewed. Clients normally give reasons why they reject articles but even then, some of those reasons are generic. Don't worry too much about clients who reject your work though. If anything, worry about clients who accept your work but never pay you for it.



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Pixie06
When I started blogging some years back I was unaware that I could actually monetize my blog. So I was writing merely because this was my passion. One of my friends a very successful blogger advised me to monetize my blog and with her help I did it. I love writing and if I can earn from it then it is a plus for me.



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Kakashi2020
Likewise, I started blogging without knowing that I could earn from it. So I think that writing is really one of my passions which I only realized 5 years ago when I started blogging.



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Corzhens
To be frank about it, I have a full time job and I never dreamed of writing as a livelihood. I have several friends who are professional writers and they tell me that writing as a career not only involves skills and talents but also luck. That means you need to get the breaks otherwise you are nothing. But 3 years ago when I started trying my hand in writing, I admit that I am beginning to love it. So maybe when I retire from my office job, I can write for money, i.e. if I get lucky to have a big break.



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mar06
One of my dream is to become of the one of the famous writer in world. So I love to write because that is one of my passion and that really who I am. I am pursuing also do those things that can enhance my writings skill. Sometimes I join seminars and workshop about becoming writer.



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