I actually went into writing first to supplement my income, which was a strange thing to do, and actually failed.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I didn't make any money from my writing until much later. I published about 80 stories for nothing. I spent on literature.
I felt a failure because I couldn't sustain myself from what I earned from my writing. My day jobs were what mattered, and it was hard to even get those because universities wouldn't hire me as a real writer.
I was a writer for hire. I wrote to pay the bills.
During that first year, I felt guilty that my wife was out working bringing in all our income, while I was at home playing on the computer, so I made myself treat writing like a job.
But whatever my failure, I have this thing to remember - that I was a pioneer in my profession, just as my grandfathers were in theirs, in that I was the first man in this section to earn his living as a writer.
Basically, I always wanted to be an author but went through all these other jobs while getting up the nerve to finally go for it with my writing! Thank goodness it worked; who knows what I might have done next?
I opted for a freelance writing career. I was lucky enough to have the means to do it.
If your purpose is to make money, you shouldn't get into writing.
I was trying to support a family with writing. I didn't have a private income. I had no other profession.
Writing wasn't about making money. I wanted to find fulfillment in writing and telling stories, and that's what's driven me.