My, is this thing ever dusty! The problem with dual identities is that they’re, well, dual. The working writer has to make a living. Making a living interferes with being a writer. It’s no secret that I write under a pseudonym. In certain professions writing is discouraged. The only way I can get away with writing the fiction I do is by saying “It’s not me!” I know I’m in good company here. The average person can’t identify Samuel Clemens. No, I don’t mind the nom de guerre per se, but I resent a work life that doesn’t value the writer. It’s not just editors, either. There was a guy in my company who wasn’t an editor. He quit to become a writer and the general attitude to his leaving was a smirk. Yes, it’s difficult to make a living as a writer. Unless you get an agent you won’t make much in royalties. You can’t quit your day job. And aside from the many hours sapped from your life-force by work, some jobs declare that you shouldn’t writ
Blog of a struggling writer.