Seven weeks after the first day of the second new year

Author has been thinking about the full-time writers among you, those who have only recently become that, recently being a month, a year, a duration ago that hasn’t been enough yet for you to establish yourself in your new profession. If you’re trying to get a grasp of where you fit in the world of working people, because unlike most of them you’re not working in a “regular” job, then this post is for you.

Most of the people you know probably have structured jobs. They have a defined workplace, one that was there before they joined it, one they work in with others who do the same work as them, a workplace they go to every weekday at a certain hour and return from a fixed number of hours later. They work a fixed number of days in the week, say Monday to Friday, and probably have weekends and holidays off, whole days when they put work aside. They have a fixed idea of their job, the work they will do every day, every week, next month and next year, for as long as they hold that job. Perhaps they have a path they have set for themselves, for how they want to advance in the future, in that job, that career, where they want to be in a year, five, ten. All within a structured framework they move in with a sense of certainty: it’s familiar, it’s been frequented before by so many and is being frequented by many now, and it follows a predetermined pattern that most of society follows. And whatever job it is that they have, they have to show for it what everyone else around them does, what everybody is expected to have: regular wages and a safety net of experience that will allow them to find the next job or climb the ladder in their current one, enjoy the fruits of the current step while preparing to walk step after determined step into the future.

True, things are changing in our world, some people work from home, and others are self-employed. But still, they have a company they work with or customers that dictate products and deadlines, and therefore do have some sort of a structured framework they work within. And theirs are a tangible set of repeated tasks and what they are paid for them. And they too, when they sit with family and friends, can join the conversation of how much they’re paid, their next raise, their next promotion or expansion of their business. And they can chat about what their coworkers did, what their boss, partner or customer said, what happened at work today and what will happen tomorrow, in a way that is understood by all around them, they have similar experiences. A bit simplistic perhaps, this description of working people in the working world, but Author wagers you get what she’s saying.

But once in a while, someone breaks away from this familiar, higher-certainty, structured framework. They have an idea that they feel they simply have to bring to life, a product that they believe will fulfill its buyers’ need, a creation they want to bring to the world. And so they set out on a new path, a completely different one from that taken by family, friends, neighbors, society around them. They create their own job from scratch, often without any backing, and with a whole lot unknown. They might be frowned upon for taking the uncertain way in life, because those around them don’t understand, or simply worry about them, and find themselves having to rely on their own strength of conviction. They are aware of the uncertainty of what they are doing, of the fact that there is no assurance they will succeed, and even if they do, no knowledge as to when. Yet they do it. They are driven and are willing to embark on a duration of concentrated work and unknown challenges. You know them, you’ve seen them. They are entrepreneurs, the people who dare, who found startups.

Now look at yourself. By choosing to become a writer, you’ve effectively taken a different path than others around you. Being a writer is not a nine-to-five job. You don’t go to work in the morning, do your job and then return home and continue the rest of your day doing non-work-related tasks. As a writer you work alone, isolated, and at home, not in an outside location—something that tends to help delimitate one’s working hours, create a clear framework: now I’m working, and my mindset is accordingly. As a writer, the framework is up to you, as is the mindset. You decide when and where you work, and you set the deadlines for your writing products. And you alone need to find the discipline to seat yourself down and do the work. That’s not easy, since there’s not one to watch you, tell you what to do, assign tasks to you, and chide you if you’re not doing your work. And every ‘project’ you work on, every book, your work on it is long term, it requires many steps within a lengthy duration until it is complete, and there are no intermediate, tangible products to obtain a tangible result, pay, salary to, to show those around you. They will have to wait until your book is finished, then wait with you for the feedback, be patient until the outcome of your efforts is determined.

And in the meantime, you’re working flexible hours, long hours that tend to seep into nights, weekends and holidays, and you’re engaged in research, in the development of a concept, and in the making of a product that takes time to prepare, trials and errors. And when your product comes out, it will take time to sell, and in the meantime—and later—you will need to continue the process, keep researching, keep developing new products, until you produce enough of them to gain you a reputation so that you will be marked as a brand.

Sounds familiar? It should, because guess what: you’re a startup. Yes, that’s right. A startup. And people who found startups work long hours, they don’t have job security, they are the ones who make all the decisions, the responsibility for the venture is theirs. They encounter delays, setbacks. Knowledge gaps that need to be filled whenever a new idea is developed, new skills that need to be learned and tested. And of course they feel strain, anxiety. Concern about the future, about failure. And yes, difficulty making those around them understand what they do, how they do it, why they do it, and when it will be done. But they also recognize that in this path they’ve chosen for themselves, they’re gaining valuable skills, such as the ability to think flexibly, to find solutions, to think outside the box. To dare. And that’s just a part of it if they make it, if they succeed. And most of all, they love what they do, and feel the thrill of creation, the excitement of the prospect, the hope, of success. The pride, when their creation is complete.

Just like you, the writer.

Not a tip for you this week from Author and Sister, but a word of encouragement: this is an exciting journey you’re on. It’s not easy, the life you’ve chosen for yourself, that of a writer, but is easy what you’re looking for? Creators have a unique drive, something alive in them that doesn’t let go, that grows and evolves and thrives and, with work, and, yes, with that within you that is different than others, becomes a creation that is part of you, and that you can proudly present to the world. That’s worth it.