I’m a little tired of writers out there who are perpetuating fear of other writers taking away their opportunities. I’m an e-card carrying member of the Internet Press Guild and the Online News Association and in both cases, on both lists there is nothing but support for everyone’s endeavors and tons of good "feasting" on new job opportunities.
Why is it that some folks in the writing biz tend to push the perspective that our jobs will some day dry up in the face of competition from sites like guru.com or elance.com? Let me be bold and state your writing jobs will not dry up unless you decide to literally stop writing!
Writing is for many of us a career and a great one, but the first rule of "Write Club" as I like to call it is that we all talk about "Write Club" and we all help one another expand our reach as writers and in our profession.
Sure it’s not as fun as beating down other writers, making the writing opportunities seem scarcer than they really are, or being afraid that the next job will be your last. But be honest, is it all that fun to constantly write in fear?
My advice is to write with gusto. Network with gusto, always look ahead and not behind. Don’t worry about what "other" writers are doing out there, don’t wish their ink wells would dry up and don’t disparage other writers simply trying to break in the market. If you do good work, you’ll have more work. If you’re a crummy writer, you won’t have work.
Did you know that many times Kurt Vonnegut turned his amazing works of fiction over to his editor on tiny bar napkins scribbled with sections of his novels? He wrote because he could not but write.
That’s a true writer. You be a true writer too. If you’re like me, no matter what the type of writing job, there’s something so fulfilling and exhilirating when that first key is struck and a letter appears on the screen that all the other junk fades away.
So don’t worry about what other writers are doing, or if your writing gigs will go away because some "young’un" offers cheaper rates.
Stay in the flow of writing and you will be rewarded. Fear doesn’t bring a reward, it just makes you get stuck.
Just keep writing, responding to opportunities and wishing other writers well and you’ll be fine. The pen always "writes" itself as my Gramps used to say.
