For Love Or Money?

     I was recently asked why I write, for the love of it or the money. My answer was simple, I write because I love it, all else is a secondary blessing. Many years ago when I used to write lots of poetry and short stories, I enjoyed every moment of it and took great pleasure in my craft. I was getting published in anthologies and magazines; I wasn't getting a ton of money back in my humble beginnings, but I was happy. Then someone suggested that I should get more serious about the financial part of writing... and so I did. I began to write stories and poems with popular themes, trying to carve out a bigger payday in the market. I started getting rejection letters by the dozens, and even magazines who had published me in the past wouldn't touch my new work. What had happened? I wasn't writing from the heart anymore, I was writing from the wallet; therefore my writing suffered and felt forced. My work began to be a shadow of what it had been, and no one in their right mind would have wanted to publish it.

      I then put creativity on hold, and decided to get my priorities straight. It turned out to be a long break, but when I did return to writing I did the task out of love and desire for the written word. It was a lesson to me, and one I will never forget, and that is; heart and soul are everything. Whatever you do in life, do it from the heart and your work will be aglow with your passion. People will notice this and then the rewards will begin to come. There are some who may disagree with this philosophy, and say that we cannot live on our passion. But I ask you, when was the last time you purchased a product from a manufacturer that had shoddy workmenship? Did you return to that manufacturer and give him more business, or did you find someone who took pride and care in making their product? Assembly line mentality will always show in the end and eventually no one will want to buy your inferior material. But taking care to put out a product that you believe in and will stand by no matter what...this will always pay off in the end.