So, I’m a “Writer” Now?
The other day I was filling out a form that had a blank for “profession.” Over the last 15 years I’ve varied my answer here because I sorta defy description. I sometimes put things like: programmer, software engineer, entrepreneur, Internet publisher, game developer, and probably a few others.
But this time, for the first time, I put “writer.”
Why the change? Well, my “My iPad” book came in a the top-selling computer book of 2011. I was in the top 3 for computer book authors. I make a substantial portion of my income from book royalties now. I’ve written two new editions of My iPad this year and a new book on Pages. That makes 20 books now since my first one in 1996. And I may be writing one more before the end of the year.
How did this happen? I’m supposed to be an entrepreneur and programmer. Being an entrepreneur is fun and allows me to live the lifestyle I want. And programming is something I love, and it is where I have my 10,000 hours of mastery (as in the book “Outliers”).
But there is also the part of me that discovered in the 6th grade that I was better than most of the rest of the kids at writing. I joined the high school newspaper, and then the college newspaper, eventually becoming the Editor. I went to grad school for journalism. I thought for a minute that I would go on to be a reporter for a newspaper. I didn’t because while I loved writing, I hated reporting.
And then this year I added “screenwriter” to my list of things as I penned a short film (hopefully coming to a film festival near you).
So part of me is thrilled that I can now introduce myself as a “writer.” And part of me wishes I would just program all day, creating small games and apps that I can self-publish as an entrepreneur.
on 9/11/2012 at 3:56 pm