Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette

Writing success has a great deal to do with a writer’s finances.  It took the Old Soldier years to figure this out.

99.9% of writers will never make a living from their writing.  I’m sorry to be the one to tell you but I know you expect the truth from the Old Soldier.  If that discourages you, then maybe writing is not for you.

If you write not because you want to but because you have to, then there is hope that you can find a level of writing success that will make you happy.  If you are one of the talented and very lucky writers that start making money from their writing right away, you don’t need any advice from me.

If you are like me, trying to find a certain level of success, then the first thing you need to do is to get a job that you can tolerate, that pays your bills and that allows you time in your life to write.

Even though the Old Soldier won a writing fellowship in 2003 that was worth at least $60,000, his writing over the years has made only several hundred dollars.  Certainly not enough money to live on.  And the Old Soldier has been writing seriously his entire adult life.

It is only now at the age of 64 that social security, a military pension and a pension from Giant Eagle puts me in a position where I don’t have to worry about making a living so that I can concentrate on being a full-time blogger.

And what is writing success for me?  At least 100 visits to my blog every day.