We all have a future, no matter what

Since I just graduated college, I often have to explain what I’m up to. When I say I’ve decided to pursue a career as a writer, it’s common that someone asks me right away what my parents think.

It’s safe to say that this is not a career for everyone. It can be unconventional, to say the least. Maintaining a successful career as a writer requires an awful lot of self discipline and internal motivation. Most successful, career writers—and by that, I mean people who make their living solely on writing­—don’t do so as a day job. It comes about with contract work, or, as it’s most commonly known,...