Questions Writers Get Asked

Friends and family often do not understand why you persist on your writing journey when you haven't become a raging success in the writing world.

They ask questions like Sold your book yet? How many articles have you had published this year? Don't you get tired of rejections? What makes you keep on writing? Let's look at each one.

1.  Sold your book yet? Non-writers haven't a clue as to what is involved in 'selling' a book. They would be amazed at the amount of time, effort and love that has gone into that novel you wrote. They don't know the statistics on the small percentage of novels written that actually end up published. They don't know the heartbreak each time you have a door slammed in your face.

2.  How many articles have you had published this year? I know you'd like to tell them it's none of their darned business and stalk away. Bite your tongue and then answer that you don't always keep track of the numbers, or if you know and are alright with telling, do so. It's going to be a very different number if you are a professional freelance writer as opposed to a hobbyist writer.

3.  Don't you get tired of rejections? You can most likely answere truthfully that you do get tired of rejections but that every acceptance wipes away the downside of a rejection. You can spout statistics to them about the number of acceptances and rejections according to numbers submitted but they will most likely just nod their head in agreement and then ask the same question a few weeks later.

4.  What makes you keep on writing? Here is where you can orate to your heart's content. You can tell family and friends about the passion you have for the written word, about the need to get your feelilngs written somewhere, about the desire to bring something to others. But guess what? They still won't understand. You have to walk the journey to understand it.

So, when those questions that grate get tossed at you, do your best to answer and know that the person asking will never completely understand your position. As long as you still have the desire to be a writer, keep on with your journey. You're doing this for yourself not for all those friends and family.

If you suddenly turn out to be the next bestseller author, those same people will most likely say I knew this would happen. I had faith in you all these years. You can just smile and say thank you and continue on that long journey that brought you success. I wish this for all of you.