Writing Update

I haven't looked at my blog in a week and a half.  I'd like to say that I've been busy writing, but that would be only half true.  I've been busy thinking about writing instead of actually doing it -- what I should be working on and whether I'm up for this rewrite.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what it takes to make a living as a novelist.  I've known a few people who've done it, so I know it's possible, but I also know that very few writers ever make it to that level.  I understand that hard work is more important than talent, and that connections can be handy but won't carry anyone all the way, and that luck has almost nothing to do with it.  

I figure that about 1,000 living writers are making a living as novelists in the English language market today.  I know a couple of them, a handful of writers who have published novels but won't be quitting their day jobs any time soon, and many, many more who are steadily working at their craft and may or may not get published eventually.  The odds are not good.  

I would like to be one of that club of a thousand or so, but I think I'm going to work on some non-fiction, too, just to hedge my bets a bit.  We'll see how it goes.

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