Keep writing

If you want to earn your living, or even part of your living as a writer here's what you need to know:

1. Accept that you write what other people want. Most of us can't make money only writing what we feel like writing. We depend on commissions. Some of them are boring.
2. Self starting and self monitoring are essential skills. If you can't work from home and actually get stuff done on time you probably won't make it as a writer.
3. Meet your deadlines and people come back to you - as long as the work is good of course.
4. Be warm, approachable and honest with your clients. They like you for it and ... they come back.
5. If you really love writing do some for fun. Start that novel; write articles for magazines that pay peanuts; jot down your thoughts and observations in a note book. Who knows, one day you might be the kind of writer who writes what you really want to write. That's until the editor gets hold of it of course.