Thanks for the humane advice for fellow writers. I was taking a writing course and the instructor told us the odds of getting published were small. I found this shattering of expectations to be freeing and allowed me to write for passion rather than fame/fortune. I am hesitant to make writing a 'job' rather than a soulful expression. I'm sure there is a Buddhist message there about clinging and suffering but setting a hard goal of being a highly paid professional writer is likely to make one miserable and curtail our writing expression. Yes, not only is it OK to be a "failure" but likely as well.
Thanks for the humane advice for fellow writers. I was taking a writing course and the instructor told us the odds of getting published were small. I found this shattering of expectations to be freeing and allowed me to write for passion rather than fame/fortune. I am hesitant to make writing a 'job' rather than a soulful expression. I'm sure there is a Buddhist message there about clinging and suffering but setting a hard goal of being a highly paid professional writer is likely to make one miserable and curtail our writing expression. Yes, not only is it OK to be a "failure" but likely as well.