Charlie has written a very sobering essay on how crazy it is to choose writing SF novels as a career path. But some of us don’t have a choice…
Most normal kids decide they want to be a football star or a ballerina at some time; a few of them are stubborn enough that they actually persist with the ball-kicking or dancing for years after their less fixated peers give up on it, and get good enough to fully develop their potential. I just knew I was going to be a novelist. If I’d realized back then just how unlikely this ambition was — and indeed, it’s even less likely than becoming a football star or a prima ballerina — I’d have settled for something reasonable, like training as a brain surgeon or running for parliament. But nobody told me until I’d already persisted for more years than was sensible, written probably a million words of complete crap, and was beginning to acquire some basic skills: by which time the thought of giving up on those wasted years was too depressing to contemplate.
Miksiköhän näitä “onpa aika pihkuran vaikeaa tulla kirjailijaksi, voi juupelin jumbo jumpura” virsiä aina ilmestyy kirjailijoilta jotka ovat jo breikanneet kuuluisuuteen. Kyllähän tietysti saksalaiset itse mieluusti sanovat että ranskalaiset ja puolalaiset taistelivat erinomaisesti toisessa maailmansodassa ja me ollaan vaan niin saatanan kovia kun ne voitettiin. Mitenkäs se Michael Swanwick sanoi, jos teistä ei tule kirjailijoita minulla on vähemmän kilpailijoita että turha odottaa kannustusta. Sanoi se sen hymyillen, lieneekö hyvä vai huono.