I’ve made no money from writing so far. Zippo. Zilch. In fact, once you account for marketing, this website, hiring editors, graphic designers, and everything else, I’m still in the red. Recently, someone pointed out to me that only the exceptional few really ever make any money doing this. “So,” they asked, “why do this? What’s the motivation?”
Well, it’s certainly not money. I’m finally approaching the day when I’ll be in the black after making a considerable investment in this, which will feel like a significant milestone—as crazy as that sounds. But I’ve never really given the cost or possible return much thought. I just wanted to write. And besides, I have my day job to fall back on, which is what freed me up to take this time to write in the first place.
A Little Good
What is it then? Why do it?
In short, to put a little good out into the world. Hopefully, someone will pick up my recent book—or a future one—or give this blog a look and find something that helps them with their day. Maybe it gives them a laugh, something they can relate to, or something to consider that they hadn’t before. If I can change a perspective, let someone know they’re not alone, or even just have one person benefit from reading something I wrote, that would be enough for me. Truly.
The world is so complicated now. There are so many challenges, mistruths, and fallacies promoted on social media and across the web. This blog started as a way of shouting back at the noise—to provide a place where you aren’t inundated with advertisements and sensational headlines, but just honest takes on life as we know it. A place to bounce ideas off each other and stay real.
There are so few places online where you feel like you’re getting real takes on life, and I wanted to create one. Too many websites give you short blurbs that are more dedicated to SEO metrics than actual English, or feel so completely AI-generated you start wondering where the real people are. You go on Instagram now, and half the time it feels like a game of trying to figure out if the images are real or AI. What’s going on here? What am I looking at?
Honest Places
As the world gets more complicated, I feel it’s going to become more important than ever for people to share opinions and experiences we can truly connect with. To have people who are committed to the truth and don’t stray from it. Who don’t use their writing websites for ad revenue, cheap thrills, or product promotion—but to promote ideas. To create a space where people can really think about things, digest them, comment, and start exploring their own writing and interests. And if a book or something on this site can help with that, then that’s enough.
To be completely honest, it would be really nice to make a little money too! But because I already have a job, I don’t worry about that. This gives me the freedom to write simply because I love it, which is motivation enough. And hopefully, it can make an impact, however small. As Macklemore says in his song Growing Up: “Find something that you love, and do it every day. Do that for the rest of your life, and eventually, the world will change.”
Or maybe, at least, one person’s day.
Writing Prompts
If we don’t think about why we want to write, we miss a big part of what can help form the best version of the words we put down. For more about not just the writing process, but the motivations for writing in the first place, head over to In Writing.