“There are, first of all, two kinds of authors: those who write for the subject’s sake, and those who write for writing’s sake.”
– Arthur Schopenhauer
Imagine this—after years of working at a career you hate, you wake up one day and decide it’s the first day of the rest of your life—you’re going to be a writer. Not just any old writer, but one who’s the exception to the rule and will break into stardom with your very first book. Bully for your pipe dream. The fact is that writing is 5% talent and 95% hard work—very hard work and the rewards are negligible for most. Over two thirds of self-published authors make $250 or less on their self-published book. But, we continue to write because as Maya Angelou said.
“You write because you have to. A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood.”
Maya Angelou
During the last few weeks, and with this need to communicate in mind, The Blue Nib opened the pages of the digital magazine to a limited number of contributors.
Clare Morris edited the column which went under the title The Daily. Some articles were written by Blue Nib staff. But mostly, the contributors have been writers who submitted articles about their own experiences. The blog has featured work by poets, authors, translators, teachers, editors and students. Contributors have been a mix of emerging and established writers and the blog quickly became popular with readers.
Articles published on The Daily speak mostly about what it is to be a writer. Some contributors wrote about the joy of writing, others about the frustration. Some articles were inspirational, others humorous while some were downright scary. The common thread was writers were writing about their lives and their craft. They were writing about The Writer’s Life.
In response, The Blue Nib has decided not only to continue with the project but to rebrand it as THE WRITE LIFE and to expand it.
As a Blue Nib reader or contributor, consider this your invitation to become a writer for THE WRITE LIFE. We will consider work from anyone. The subject is broad, the brief limited only by the stipulation that contributions must be relevant to the life, craft, tribulation and triumphs of writing. Articles that inform, educate, entertain, amuse or astound are the meat and bones of this column.
To contribute, simple email our editor Clare Morris at [email protected] with your proposed article. If your work is accepted, you will be added to Clare’s call and contributor list.
All submissions are read and contributors informed of our editor’s decision.