Elliot Kessler

Being an author is a challenge. I only have one book written (which I am reworking) and another on the way. A lot of work and effort goes into planning, writing, and marketing a book. I don’t even understand everything that goes on in this business.

Lately, I’ve been in the midst of another challenge I face as an author. I’m trying to remember why I write stories.

That might sound like a simple problem, but it isn’t. Well, at least it isn’t that simple to me. I’ve been conflicted lately. Before, I struggled writing stories because I wanted to write the most profound, thoughtful masterpiece with every story. Now, I’m having a hard time writing because I want results. I’m becoming impatient. I want to get stories out there as fast as possible to get people to read them. I’m tired of writing and working on projects for so long that people can’t read because they’re not ready yet. Even more irritating is writing and putting a story on the internet for no one to see.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful to every person who reads my stories. It’s the most encouraging thing in the world. Lately, I’ve just been getting impatient. I want this author thing to happen now. I want to have tons of books that millions of people read all over the world.

That might very well happen in the future. But I keep expecting it to happen any day now, but it won’t. I need to be patient and understand that this author thing takes a lot of time. I could write ten novels throughout the next decade and still not make enough from my books to become a full-time author. I want to be a full-time author now, but I need to be ok with waiting. I need to be patient.

Writing isn’t about making money and getting rich. It’s not about becoming famous and having millions of fans. It’s about telling stories that make readers think. It’s about entertaining and moving an audience. Above all, stories are fun. It’s something that I continuously forget. Stories are supposed to be fun. I keep taking all of the things I’m working on too seriously. I focus on how well it will do rather than how much joy I get from creating a new story. Writing is fun, and it’s time I acted like it.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.