The Curse is Over and I am back to My Life Again

It had been terrible 17-18 months for me. Just one after another disaster and nothing else happened. I suffered every way- physically, emotionally and financially. Now, things are becoming back to normal level in every way. I have started to blog again and my health is now much better. Yes, I am still suffering from low income but I know that if I can work regularly then it wont be a problem as I am indeed a very hard working person.

To be honest with you, I am not unhappy for the last 1 and half years. I have learnt a lot from my sufferings and the most important thing that I have learnt is that in life, we often become very sad from small matters. Life is too much precious to waste energy for small things.

As I was born in a lower middle class or a poor family, I had to suffer a lot of insults for most parts of my life. I guess that it is a common phenomenon everywhere that many rich people do not like the idea that a boy or a girl from a poor background outshines them. In a third world country, it can become even more tragic.

Before I became ill, these insults and bad memories used to offend me a lot and I wasted a lot of energy from sadness and I was too much preoccupied with thinking of revenge. This is the simple lesson I have learnt and I am happy for this change. Now, I know that the best way to take revenge is to be happy in life and do the things that make me happy.

Suddenly, I can find that I have many hours to work and my mind is now not preoccupied with revenge, anger or any negative feeling. Instead, I am happy with my wife and I am happy with my work. More than anything, I know that this happiness is a rare blessing from God. I am not exactly a religious person but I have touched God’s blessings in desperate situations all through my life.

The last one week has been highly productive for me. I could write some good entries for my laptop blog and I could finish writing a cover story for a magazine. I could even start a research article. I could read nearly 4 books in 7 days. The best thing that has happened to me is that I have found an excellent idea to do some in depth reporting about Cloud Computing in South Asia.

Until last week, I had shortage of ideas and it was difficult for me to decide what to do. Now, the situation has become just the opposite. There are so many ideas in my head that I am getting confused what to leave.

I am now looking for a happy beginning in life. I do not want to give any advice to any of you. All I can say that if you are suffering then try to have some kind of hope that good time will come. I know really believe it.    

Giving Opinion in real life and Blogging

I like to talk a lot. I am perhaps one of them who have a kind of opinion about everything in the world and do not hesitate to voice their opinions everywhere. Today, I was thinking about it. Well, yes, sometimes, I make a fool out of myself by talking about the things I do not know that much. Secondly, I often get into heated argument or quarrel because of this bad quality of mine. Of course, sometimes, I am right too. Still, it is not a very good quality.

Well, today, I was thinking that I have to change but then a very good idea came to my mind. I realized that I can transform this quality from speaking to writing. In other words, I will try to totally become silent and stop giving opinions in real life but I will do it in blogging.

The good part is that I always try to say what I believe and what I really feel. I find it difficult to echo what others say. In fact, this is the thing that leads me to a thousand problem every month. In blogging, it is not a problem because many people indeed can get touched with my idea. Even if they don’t like they can argue with me in written form. In fact, 99.99% of my readers do not know me personally. Thus, there is no possibility of a head to head conflict.

If I can really implement this idea then my productivity in blogging will skyrocket indeed. May be at first it will again lead me to conflict with some bloggers. However, with the passing of days, I will perhaps get more readers who have similar ideas like me. In real life, it is impossible because my message cannot reach to many people. However, in blogging, it is much easier. This simple idea has reignited my passion and interest about blogging. Of course, I must remember that when I want to give my opinion on something I should have some understanding and knowledge about the topic. I should also try to come out of any prejudice.

You can read this entry: Opinion - Good blog, bad blog: does the value of blogging outweigh its risks?

I have found the Right Rhythm in Blogging

It seems that at last I have found the right tune in blogging. For the last 3-4 days, I have been writing in just one blog Laptopet and there, I have been writing about just one topic- cloud computing. I have searched and read a lot about this topic in the last 4 days and I have watched nearly 30 videos in YouTube about cloud computing. As a result, I felt happy and I could write with some skill.

My knowledge has increased about this topic and at the same time, I have been able to post 8 entries about it in Laptopet blog.

Before that, I felt stressed out and I lost my interest about blogging. Blogging seemed to me very difficult as I was going no where. Then, I came up with the idea to focus only in one blog and on one topic. Someone requested me to write a long article about cloud computing. Thus, it became a freelance project for me. So, I started reading about it and I have another 10 days to write that long article and give him. Thus, I am selling an article as a freelance writer. It has become a triple bonus for me. I am going to sell an article and get some money and fame. I have already written 10 entries about cloud computing in my Laptop blog. Finally, I have gained some indepth knowledge about this field.

Oh! there is a fourth benefit too. Today, I just realized that I can write a research article about cloud computing in my country. 

When less is More and when less can bring Satisfaction?

Yesterday, I decided that I would change my style and try to write less. I took this decision for two reasons. First of all, I am still not perfectly fit. My health is improving but still it is not that good. Writing a lot means a lot of stress both physically and mentally.

The second reason was that I wanted to focus on quality. For example, today, I wrote this entry in South Asia Blog: Wimax Internet in Bangladesh: Facilities, Problems and Potentials. I was satisfied with it. I really miss writing this kind of long entries.  

The third factor that perhaps encouraged me to take this decision was that 4 and half years ago, when I started full time and professional blogging, I was alone. Now, I have a team of 4 bloggers under me and with me, the team consists of 5 members. So, it is time that I relax a bit more and still enjoy good traffic for my blog. Thus, this entry brought a lot of satisfaction. It was just one entry and would not bring extra revenue but the satisfaction was more important. At last, I feel better emotionally and my body did not suffer either.

Well, almost all the credit goes to my wife as she has been insisting for it for quite long time. Now, I dream of a day that I will just write one entry each day. 

At last I feel Happy about Blogging

Since I started blogging, I had always the dilemma of earning money vs personal satisfaction. I had to do many things. The most important thing I had to do was to learn about blogging. So, I had to study a lot about Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Earning Money through blogging etc. I also made a huge mistake of trying to spread myself too thing and I worked in many blogs.

As a result, life became full of stress and I was working sometimes 16 hours day after day and month after month. I do not regret all the mistakes in the last four years because I have learnt a lot from the mistakes. Secondly, because I dedicated myself completely about reading on blogging, now blogging is not difficult for me. If my health was some better then blogging was indeed no problem.

I am now becoming better and I am grateful to God for that. Today, I have taken a huge decision of just trying all out for one blog: Laptopet. Thus, I feel almost no stress and exhausting about blogging. This is for the first time in four and half years, I feel very happy about blogging. In the past, I was happy too but there was a sense of tiredness, exhaustion and stress working on me as I was in a field that I did not have much knowledge and skill.

Also, from today, I am going to start doing some research. So, it has brought a lot of satisfaction in my mind. 

What to Do with Four Hours?

At last, my health is becoming fresh enough to work. The feeling is excellent after a long time. There are four hours before going to bed to sleep. So, what to do?

Of course, the first thing to do is to finish this entry in this blog. Then, I think some, make a plan and search some and again think and write.

When you are a journalist then one advantage is that you know your assignments. In other words, you know what you have to write. However, when you are a blogger and you only write in your own blogs then this becomes a problem. I have noticed that a lot of time gets wasted everyday just to think that what should be written.

Thus, a good portion of the next 4 hours will be perhaps wasted thinking about what to write.

In the last one week, I received two nice comments in my inbox through Feedburner. I like to thank both of these two readers. Comments like these surely help me to get more energy and motivation to write.

The long summer heat is almost finishing. Now, in our home, we have less power cuts (load shedding) and this is good for working. 

Finding the Humanistic Touch in Writing about Business and Technology

In my earlier entry, I wrote that I am going to focus only in two blogs from tomorrow, South Asia Blog and Lapopet. The first blog is about business and economy while the second one is purely related to technology. My educational background is pure Arts. I studied English Literature and then English Language Teaching (ELT) in my BA and MA respectively.

You may wonder whether I have any knowledge or skill to blog in these two blogs. Well, I liked Economics a lot and I used to read about economics when I found time in my school and college days. I have been writing about International business since 1997 (13 years). I also have been writing about computer and Internet since 1999 (11) years. So, I think that I have some skill for writing about business and technology or else I would not survive so long.

I especially enjoy writing in South Asia Blog. When I write a business entry then I try to add some humanistic touch. If you have some time then read this entry: Impact of Global Economic Recession on Nepalese Economy

I feel that the humanistic touch make my entries easier to read and more enjoyable.  

I need to find the same touch while writing about technology. Until now, I never tried to write about technology seriously. Now is the time as we are going to make Laptopet our main blog.

I dream of a day when I can full time write about humanities topics like history or literature or linguistics. Now, I am hopeful that it will come soon. 

Decreasing Quantity while Focusing on Quality

Quality and Quantity most of the time have opposite relationship. If quantity increases then quality decreases. This is even truer in writing. To write in a good way, you have to give a lot of time and efforts. Of course, the more you try, you become better and faster. For example, I am almost continuously blogging for more than 4 years and 6 months. Naturally, I am now much faster when I write an entry compare to 4 years ago. That is perhaps why, this feeling has come inside me that I should focus on quality from now instead of quantity.

Well, at first, I had to focus on quantity as I hardly knew anything blogging, about earning money or getting traffic. Now, I am at the peak of skill in Blogging and that is why, I feel that it is time to focus on quality.

What is quality in blogging? To me, the definition of quality is simple. I should get maximum satisfaction after writing an entry. I have noticed in the past that when I wrote a quality entry, it brought good response. I got links from some influential blogs and social bookmarks. Of course, after writing a good entry, some promotional activities are needed or else others wont find my writings. So, I know that I can write quality content that gets linked by others.

The sickness, hard work, mental stress, getting the money after earning it, suffering disaster because of shared hosting- all of these took away my confidence and mental energy. I lost the motivation and ability to write the nice entries consistently. My health is coming back and this is helping me a lot.

I am an Aries and maturity became much later in my life. I guess that at last at the age of 37, I feel matured. I still feel very young in my mind but now, I have started to feel matured.

Perhaps the main problem now is to focus on a fixed topic for a long time. I can sit in front of the PC for many hours but I cannot focus on a topic continuously even for 10 minutes. I get distracted too much with many things. Now, the main challenge is to focus on something for nearly one hour. If I can totally focus on writing for one hour then in two hours, I can produce something not perhaps magical but I am satisfied with the quality.

Thus, this is now my main challenge. I love writing a lot and I am happy to be a writer. I cannot think of any other profession that would bring even 10% of happiness like writing. I lost track but here, I am back again to my very best.

It is time to enjoy writing again, take writing as a challenge and enjoy the challenge. Yes, this time, I am matured and happy. Writing is the thing that I can do best and I want to try my best this time.

One of the things that really makes me happy is that I can find happiness and satisfaction in any kind of writing. I am going to focus only in two blogs from now, South Asia Blog and Laptopet. South Asia Blog is a blog about South Asian Business and Economy and Laptopet is about laptop and gadgets. Still, I enjoy writing in these blogs. Especially, South Asia Blog is my most favorite blog. Unfortunately, writing about South Asia does not bring good money or else, I would just focus on South Asia Blog.

My life has been full of struggling against poverty and suffering from frustration. Unfortunately, my parents were never wise about money and wealth and as a result, as the only son and eldest child of the family, I had to earn money from a very early age. I am happy that this is past. Fortunately, God compensated with all my sufferings with a good marriage with an exceptionally good woman.

I am happy that I experienced the kind of love that I always dreamt and read in novels and watched in movies. It is indeed a fairy tale story for me.

Now, I am optimistic because I feel more peace and calm. After years of suffering, at last, I feel I can take some rest. It has been almost 18 years of long journey of hard work for day and night, for weeks and months and years. I have made many mistakes because of immaturity. I had to tolerate many cruelties in life.

Still, I had a dream to be a writer and now I feel that I am very close to fulfilling my dream. In the last one year, I was sick most of the time and I had to depend on my 3 assistants for the blogs. They are very dedicated and I really have no complain against them. They are still working with me. However, I am the type of person who loves to work and when I could not write myself but had to guide them then I felt helpless, frustrated and useless. I like to be in charge and I like to do things myself. Thus, it was a bad torture for me.

Nevertheless, I am deeply grateful to God for this break. The last one year has not only made me matured but also has changed me profoundly. God has helped me immensely to keep the blogs more or less intact and I can again come back to writing. So, with this entry, I am making a comeback and it is like a second beginning for me. 

Race against Time for a Blog

On this Friday (20 August), I moved our Laptop blog from Blogspot to its own domain. Well, when you do that to a blog then for the first weeks, the blog does not get good blessing from Google. So, we have to try for it a lot.

I am some concerned about this matter because in November, it is the time of Black Friday 2010. Black Friday is the time that we get most traffic for this blog. In November 2009, this blog got 110,000 page views and I think that on November 2008, it received more than 200,000 page views. So, we have just September and October or nearly 70 days.

I am hopeful that 70 days would be enough but I also know that we have to race against time so that by November 1, the blogs gets strong and gets good blessing in Google search results. Well, I am hopeful because we always give original content and we try to put quality content. 

Best Blogs on Freelance Writing: A list

If you are looking for good blogs on Freelance writing then I would like to direct you to two entries I found in other websites. Here they are:

Top 50 Freelance Writing Blogs

20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers

Some of these blogs are really useful and I visit them quite frequently. If I find time then I will try to a make a list of the good websites that are useful for freelance writers. I visit Absolute Forum almost once a day. 

Ten Tips on how to Survive as a Freelance Writer

There are really millions of people who want to be a writer. I am just one of them and I am happy to say that my full time work is writing. It is actually not freelance writing but Blogging. Many freelance writers would perhaps frown at people like me and they would say that Bloggers are not real writers. Anyway, this entry is not about me or Bloggers but here, I am going to discuss about some tips on how to survive as a freelance writer. I have been earning my livelihood as a freelance writer for quite sometimes. I have also suffered some of the worst experiences. So, I think that I am a write person to give advice on this topic.

1. Think again if you want to be a writer: yes, this is my first advice to anyone who wants to be a writer. As I have already said that millions of people want to become full time writers but only very few of them become successful. Most others either quit or suffer too much for their whole life and still do not get any success. That is why, it is better that you think again seriously whether you want to be a writer and suffer the instability and insecurity of a freelance writer. If you are not ready for the instability and security then you should not be in this field.

2. Get inspiration from the lives of other writers: Whenever I feel disappointed and frustrated, I try to think about two writers. The first one is Charles Dickens and the second one is Alex Haley. Both of them realized what poverty was. Charles Dickens in fact hardly got any chance to get school education but he taught himself and he had to literally earn money just to stay live for some of the early years of his life. That is why, I get a lot of encouragement and inspiration from the life of Charles Dickens. You do not have to get inspiration from Dickens alone. There are many other poets and writers who suffered a lot just like you.

3. Keep your dream intact: Most people are afraid to dream and even believe in their dream. I would strongly suggest that you never loss your dream. It does not matter whether you become successful or not but you must have your dream intact. For example, these days, I have to work on Blogging and earn money. I enjoy Blogging because it is a kind of writing and many people are reading my entries. However, I really wish that I could write some stories, novels and I could dedicate all my time for writing and reading about history. However, writing about history will not bring money for me and that is why I am becoming a more serious Blogger. Still, I have my dream within me. As soon as I can get good success in Blogging and can earn decent amount of money, I will try to allocate at least 20 per cent or 25 per cent of my daily time for writing and reading about history.

4. Don’t leave your day job right away: This is one of the most important tips I want to talk about. Many people get too much excited and carried away and they just jump into freelance writing. Many people even give up their day time job that brings regular money and pay all their bills. You should not do it until you can earn some regular money by selling your writing. I am grateful to god that the time of Blogging came and I could get some regular income through it.

5. Cut back on your hobbies and luxuries: When you want to become a full time freelance writer then forget about your all luxuries. May be you are fond of a very expensive restaurant and you want to go there once a week. When you become a freelance writer then just forget it. Or else you cannot control your expenses and you will suffer sooner rather than later. As for hobbies, try to think of the hobbies that does not need money at all. For example, I try to read all the news in internet and do not buy any newspaper. I also try to read as much free e-books available on internet as possible instead of buying books. I am among the persons who is crazy for newspapers and magazines.

6. Beggars should not be choosers: This is another important lesson. In your early years of freelance writing career, do not try to be an idealist or perfectionist. Sometimes you will get projects that you do not like at all. For example, I used to get a lot of projects for translation works related to computer field. My background is from Humanities and at first, it was not only distasteful for me but very difficult too. However, I realized that translating in the computer field was bringing much more money than any other kind of writing. This skill helped me a lot when I became a Blogger. So, be prepared to write the things you don’t like at all. Or in other words, sometimes, be prepared to sell your soul sometimes.

7. Work long hours: Remember that writing is not a 9 to 5 job. When you get a project and you need to do a research and work on it then be prepare to work for long hours. When I started professional Blogging nearly four and half years ago, for many months, I used to work 12 to 14 hours a day. I did not take any off because I needed to know about professional Blogging. Because of this, I survived quite well in Blogging and had decent amount on income.

8. Take loan and charity: This happened to me really. Nearly eight years ago, I left my university teaching job and decided to become a full time freelance writer. At first, it was impossible for me to earn any money and I suffered a lot from money stress. It became a real nightmare every month to pay the house rent. I had to take loan or even sometimes begged from my friends anyone I knew. Just be prepare to leave aside your dignity on some occasions and if needed take charity.

9. Success will come: I know that often writers get the feeling that they will struggle forever. I am not saying that if you work hard you will become rich or a millionaire. However, I can assure you that if you are ready to work hard regularly then at least you will be able to have a decent middle class life from the income of your writing.

10. Think again really: At first, I said you that think about the matter whether you really want to be a writer and if you are ready to suffer all the hardship, frustration and insecurities of the life of a freelance writer. At the end, I am again telling you the same thing because it is not a child play. Life is not rosy at all when you decide to become a freelance writer. You are bound to suffer for several years unless a miracle happens. 

In the end, just kind of off topic and self promotion. Today, we could move our laptop blog to a domain: http://www.laptopet.com/

If you can then pay a visit. 

Freelance Writing: Dream and Reality

Most probably, I have written about it in an earlier entry. Still, this is something that is in mind a lot in the recent weeks. It is a personal issue but also I think that most writers have to deal with it just like me. For many years, my dream was to be a writer like Charles Dickens, George Orwell or O. Henry. They are great writers and they could influence and entertain lot of people. Still, people love to read their writings. Of course, Orwell did not achieve that much popularity but both Dickens and O. Henry are still very popular not only among speakers of English language but also in the whole world.

This was my dream but I could not fulfill my dream and I am not hopeful that I can ever do it. It does not make me sad because reality is that very few writers can become successful. What makes me sad is the fact that I do not have any time to write about the things I love. I love to write about history, international politics, business but I cannot find the time. Well, more than time, they do not bring any money.

The main problem is that I am trying to set up a company and the birth pain is too much. Running a small home based company with 4 workers may not sound to be a big deal but it is more than I can handle. I have to take care of everything as I am the owner.

This matter consumes a lot of time for me. However, on the other hand, because of this company, I am free of any stress related to money.

Anyway, what I have realized is that having a dream is very important in life. Compared to 5 years ago, my condition is better now and if I have the dream then may be after one year, I can write the things I dreamt. I do not dislike blogging but I think that writing about history, international politics or current affairs, business would make me happier than writing about sports and technology or entertainment.

Secondly, I wish that everyday, I would write just entry instead of writing several entries. Well, if I have enough money then I surely can do it. Or, I try to write the short entries very quickly and then devote the whole day for writing a good and long entry.

Writing should be fun. However, the stress of work and real life has taken away all the fun and I became both physically and mentally tired. I hope that gradually I can again come back to writing for fun. 

The Best Way to Fight against Financial Stress is to Work

Here I am at the beginning of a new day. Fortunately, my sleeping habits have certainly changed and even my health has improved significantly. Thus, Today I could start working from 6:30 AM in the morning and for the last one hour, I have been working.

I will not hide the fact that I have been suffering from financial stress because for the last one year I could not work at all due to my illness and several other factors. In the last few months, my health improved significantly but financial worry caused a lot of problems for me. It was very difficult for me to concentrate and work every day.

For the last few days, I’m all the time occupied with the idea of getting free from this kind of tension. The reality is that the life of a freelance writer or a freelance blogger is always full of Stress and tension until you can become very successful. The reality is that success does not come very easily or quickly. It needs years of efforts and hard work.

I have discovered that the best way of fighting against tension about money is to focus on working. It doesn’t matter what I do but what matters is that if I want to earn money than I have to do something. I had to sell my writing or my services in any field. Even suppose if I want to become a teacher, then I have to teach students and work a certain number of hours every day. This is a reality and I cannot escape it.

One of the good things at this moment that I can find about myself is that I have become very skilled, sharp and fast in Blogging and writing because of continuous practice in the last 4 years. Even in the last one year that I could not do any work, I however managed to read a lot and it has helped me to become even better. Frankly, I should not think that the last one year has been wasted but I should try to think that it has been an important part of my development.

Now, I feel that I’m in a position to create a lot of content every day. It’s not that difficult and I know that it is very easy if I can just leave everything and focus on my Blogging. In the past, I and my other three bloggers have been successful in bringing a blog from zero to 100,000 page views within just three months of efforts. I have the track record of bringing success to five blogs in the past and the best part is that now I do not have to start anything from scratch.

There are some blogs which are ready and they get decent amount of traffic every day. All I need to do is give all our efforts just like past and again success will come within a short time.

So, instead of suffering from financial stress, the best thing I can do at this moment is to focus on work and produce a lot of content every day and do all the things that are needed to make a blog successful and start earning money within a few weeks or within a few months. I have done it in the past and I know that I can do it again.

If you ever start suffering from tension of money then try to remember that the only way out is to work hard and harder. Of course, I do not want to give you any lecture because I’m the best example that I could not work for last one year. Yes, I did some work but it was not enough and it was always well short of what I should have done. If I had just forgotten the stress and try to work every day for the last one year then naturally I would have much better condition in terms of money right now.

I have learned my lesson and I’m going to start from today in a fresh and happy mood. To be honest with you, I still do not have any problem about money but I’m just worried for the future. If I can just work hard and then the future may become even better. This is the thing that I’ve forgotten and fortunately I have remembered it today. So, I’m going to try with all my heart. 

The ups and Downs of in the life of a freelance Writer

It has been many years that I am trying to earn my livelihood as a freelance writer. I can tell you from my own experience that being a freelance writer is not an easy job. You have to move through constant struggle. There is even no guarantee that you can earn even one dollar in a week no matter how much you try. You have to sell something to earn some money.

Of course, if you are ready to do ghost writing for others then earning money becomes some easier. Even in ghost writing, there are some perils. You finish a work and then you are not getting paid in time. You just finished a ghost writing project and even you get no recognition for it.

It is frustrating and sometimes heartbreaking. If you are the only bread earned for your family then it can become nerve wrecking not only for yourself but also for your wife and children.

Still, people dream to become writers and I am just one of them. Life is not rosy at all but yet I like it. At this moment, I am trying to make a comeback to full time blogging and freelance writing again and I am hoping for the best.

 

Count the Blessings when you are frustrated

Today, I felt frustrated a lot and I lost all the energy to work. Well, the funny thing is that I did not feel frustrated because I was not having success in life. In fact, my main blog South Asia Blog is doing great. Last month, it had half million page views and this month, I am again expecting similar kind of traffic. For any blog on any topic, this kind of traffic is considered to be a genuine success. Secondly, we try our best to upload quality content on a daily basis.

I am not frustrated from lack of success but I am sad from the limitations of life. I live in a third world country and there is no Paypal. So, my earning potentials are much limited. I cannot apply to many websites or advertisement programs for this matter only.

Today is a day when I felt very miserable because of this problem only. If I had just Paypal then life would have become much easier for me.

Well, as I said in the title, I should count the blessings of life. The greatest for me is that I could become a writer in life. I can earn my livelihood through writing and I have learnt a lot in the last few years. 

Admire the Good People or Else Bad People will Rule

This entry is perhaps not related to writing or even blogging but somehow, it may have some indirect relationship. Anyway, in life, we have to make decisions on a daily basis. It is natural that most of the time, we decide what is best for us and we want to get the benefit out of our decisions. This is very natural but when it comes to other people, we should try to support and respect the good people and avoid the bad people.

If we do the opposite like, we admire the bad people and avoid the good people then it will only pollute the society and will harm all of us. In writing, it is important because if we start to admire trash writers then the good writers will be left alone and their messages will not reach to us and it will only harm out future.

Sometimes, I see others saying that a certain writer is tough to understand or boring or not fun. Yes, in this age, when you have dozens of TV channels in front of you then it is not impossible that you find many things boring compared to the TV programs.

Of course, Aristotle will seem to be boring while Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton are fun. However, if we just become crazy for Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan then in future, we will see people like them ruling the society. It wont be fun then. 

Becoming a Successful Writer: What Steps to Follow?

I am writing this entry in response to a comment written by a reader of this Blog. Yesterday, Momen wrote to me “I am a fresh graduate. I want to express many feelings within me. I love writers so much especially novelists when I read their literary achievements I feel greatness. I wish to be a famous writer one day .I live for this aim, yet unfortunately, I have no real steps.”

I hope all of you can understand what the question is that he or she wants to be a famous writer with great achievements but the steps are unclear to him or her. Well, I am not exactly a successful writer so, it is perhaps impossible for me to tell you the exact steps that you should follow to become a successful and famous writer. However, in this entry, I am going to discuss about some other writers who have seen amazing success. I am also going to discuss some points about becoming a successful writer.

What is success in writing?

Before anything, we should try to have a definition of a success in writing field. In our time, perhaps success is more or less related to money. For example, the writer of Harry Potter J. K. Rowling has become a billionaire. In the past, success was perhaps more related with feeling and emotion of readers. William Shakespeare is the best example. He was surely not one of the richest men in his time but people used to love his dramas.

William Shakespeare

Before going into the discussion, I like to talk about some famous and successful writers. At first, when we think of writing then the name of William Shakespeare automatically comes. If you take a look at his life then you will find that he came from a small place and he had his misfortune at early in life. He got married at the age of 18 with a woman who was eight years old and then suffering from further misfortune, was perhaps forced to run away to London.

In London, at first, he had to struggle a lot and he started working in the theatres. He worked very hard and then in the end became very successful in even owning a company. Shakespeare in his own life suffered a lot and had to fight for his own livelihood. Writing drama was bringing him money and the more money he could earn the better his life became. Of course, money did not come to him instantly or automatically. He had to spend days and nights to write dramas that have become unforgettable.

Charles Dickens

The next writer I am going to talk about is Charles Dickens. I am going to particularly talk about him because he is one of the very first writers who became successful in writing in newspapers and magazines. In his own life time, he saw immense success and popularity and wealth. However, his childhood was a very miserable one. Charles Dickens hardly had any opportunity to go to school but he made the best of every opportunity he got in his life.

Dickens started working in a warehouse at a very early age and one of the things that he always did was that he always tried to observe people. This quality helped him to become successful in writing. Wherever he went, he always observed ordinary people and he tried to put their stories in his writings. Thus, people felt very comfortable with his short stories and novels and they are still popular in England and everywhere.

Alex Haley

The third writer that I like to mention is Alex Haley. Whenever I feel frustrated about being a writer then I always read this easy of Alex Haley titled The Shadowland of Dreams. If you read it then you will surely notice that Haley struggled for several years before he could become a successful writer.

It was a very difficult life for him as he left everything and tried to become a fulltime author. He kept on trying and success came in the end. When success came it was big for him but it was surely a risky business.  

J.K. Rowling

The fourth and last author I like to talk about is J. K. Rowling who is popularly known as the writer of Harry Potter. Her own life was full of suffering. At a very young age, she suffered hardship. In fact, she got separated from her husband and while writing the first novel of Harry Potter, she had a child to look after and she often had to struggle for money. At first Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was sent to several publishing companies and they rejected. It took almost one year before the book got accepted and the rest is history. Of course, the rest is not history because even after the first book of Harry Potter was published she had to wait almost another one year to get good success.

No hard and Fast Rule

If you want to become a successful writer then the first thing you should remember is that there is no hard and fast rule about this matter. You have to try a lot of things and still in the end you may not get in the success that you are looking for. However, I can assure that if you really try then at least you will get mental satisfaction and happiness in life.

Mix and Observe

The one thing that I have learnt from both William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens is that if you want to be a writer then you should try not to just mix with ordinary people but to observe them carefully. Try to look at very small details of their lives. Try to know about them more about what they think, how they think, what they feel, how they feel- these kind of things. A writer must have good observation skill. If you can observe ordinary people and their lives deeply then only you can hope to put these things in your novel or stories.

Many people think that writing book is a very easy matter. You just need to sit and think some and write something and if you are lucky then you will become very successful. However, I can assure you that I have read at least biographies of 50 to 100 poets, writers, and dramatists. My background is English literature and I always love to read biographies of poets and writers and dramatists because my dream is to become a writer.

Work Daily

I have noticed that all most all of them were very hard working and serious. They were also very regular and often they had to write against deadlines. Take the examples of Dickens who always had to produce something outstanding for the newspapers and magazines and for the publishers. If he could not do it then you would not be able to earn money. It was as simple as that.

So, if you want to be a writer then practice writing daily. It is not that your first novel or short story is going to be a super hit and people are going to buy it everyday. The best thing that I would suggest to any aspiring writer is to open a blog. For example, this blog is a very good place to keep my writing. Well, sadly, this blog is not my main blog so I cannot give my time. Still it is a place to store my writings.

Dreaming vs Day Dreaming

One of the things that I always give value to life is to have a dream. Many people have laughed at me for this quality of mine as they think that it is day dreaming. However, I strongly disagree with them because having a dream doesn’t mean that you just dream and you do not do anything.

In fact, if you have a dream and if you believe in it and if you wanted desperately then you will surely try for it. I always wanted to be a writer and although I failed in freelance writing because living in a poor and third world country but I have become extremely successful in Blogging and I manage my livelihood with this. In fact, for the last four years, I have managed my life with the income from Blogging and I cannot think of any job that would bring this amount of money. So, there is no problem if you have a dream but believe in it and want it a lot. Dreaming does not mean that you just imagine about it and do not do it anything. Try to know the difference between a dream and a day dream.

Attitude

One of the things that is required for success in any field is your attitude. Never think of a short cut in life in anything. If you look at Dickens or Shakespeare or Alex Haley then you will notice that it took them years of writing before they became successful.

The same goes for J. K. Rowling of the author of Harry Potter. She started writing from childhood and it took many years for her to become a billionaire. Thus, you must have a positive attitude and you must have a hard working mentality. If you are one of the persons that you think that working hard is slavery or you are getting cheated because you are have to work a lot, then you will never become successful in writing.

Read on Writing

It is always important to read a lot about book on writing. Visit your local library and I am sure that you will find books about writing craft. It is not that you have to follow all the rules told in these writing books. What you need to do is to read as many books on writing as possible and try to get some skills in yourself. Take this matter seriously because it will be very helpful for your whole life.

I hope that the things have discusses will give some of you some good for thought. If you have any idea please write in the comment section. 

A Comfortable Chair is must for a Writer

A few days ago, I wrote that how LCD monitor for my PC has helped me to work with more comfort. Today, I could buy a new chair and it has brought me even more comfort. For many years, I could not afford to buy a good chair. However, when I could afford then I did not understand that what chair was good and thus, I suffered for the last 3 years for nothing. Now, I have really a comfortable chair and I feel very good to sit infront of the PC and write.

Somehow, I can work in laptop like most people. I am still addicted to my desktop PC and that is why, a good chair is a must. If you are a writer then try to make some investment on your chair and table. When it comes to table, I am taller than 99% people of my country. My height is exactly 6 feet or around 1.83 meter. So, the normal tables that I have in my city are not comfortable for me because of the height factor.  

Back to My best in Blogging Again

It brings a lot of good feeling in me as I have been able to write nearly 2500 words in the last 6 hours. It has been possible to do after many many months. Most probably, after one year, I could write this way. It brings a very sweet and good feeling in me. I really missed writing a lot.

It has been a year of continuous suffering for me. My health has at last become some better that I can start working again. So, today is the day that I really could work normally like past.

Well, I have tried to read a lot about blogging and this is now helping me a lot. My main blog is http://www.southasiablog.com/ and it has received traffic of half million page views this month. Thus, the blog has broken all of my past records. It could happen because of the knowledge and experience I have gathered in the last 4 years as a blogger. 

The Dream of Writing an E-book

One of the best things that I have in life is perhaps a very good team. I used to teach in the past. It is not that I was very successful in teaching career. Yes, I worked in several universities both in the capacity of a teaching Assistant and as a lecturer. However, I was in a condition that I had to earn more money than a university job could pay, I wanted to be a writer, I found Internet to be something that I needed to master.

So, I left university teaching. Almost everyone who knows me felt that I was a sore loser and stupid man. I don’t regret at all because I have now much more satisfaction as a writer. Well, I am happy that I was a teacher because this profession helped me to find some young students who helped me a lot. I guided them to some exciting projects: publishing a real magazine or two, Online Magazine, CD magazine and several websites and failed in all of them.

Still, I have 3 former students working with me in my blogs. The deal is pretty simple: I teach them all the skills I know and they work with me. It is indeed a win-win situation. The only painful part is that it takes a long time for a student to become skilled and experienced and then work with me. For example, one of the students has been working with me for 3 years and it will take another one year for him to work with me in a level that I can be satisfied. The two other students were hard working and they are upto the mark.

The best part is that I have dreams and they have dreams. It is more or less like apprentice-master relationship. They have to work hard for some years and then they can join me in my projects. In USA, this is a very natural thing to do but not in the country I live. Anyway, I am very happy for this matter. When a student passes the apprentice stage, it makes a life (career) for the student and it brings a skilled worker for me. Well, in the past, I did not understand this matter. Now, I can see it and that is why, I give all my efforts to improve these 3 students who have the same dream like me.

Our dream is to write a good e-book. We do not want to earn money with it but we want any people to read it- as many as possible. We want them to read the e-book and admire our work. This is not an easy work because there are many e-books in Internet and it is very difficult or perhaps impossible to make sure that people would find it and read it.

Fortunately, I have good knowledge of Search Engine Optimization and I know how to bring visitors for a website or a blog. So, the easy part is to bring people and some of them will surely bother to read our e-book. The toughest part is to ensure that they would love the e-book. Well, this is an area I have no expertise or experience because I am not a successful or famous writer. I am not a celebrity. I do not have even idea whether we should create an e-book on fiction or non-fiction. All I know is that I have a dream and I have 3 assistants who have the same kind of dream just like me.

What if it is a failure? Most probably, it will be a failure as now we do not have enough time. We are working very hard for South Asia Blog to shine and it is slowly shining. Most probably, for the next one year, we will be only busy with this blog to become successful. Still, it is a good thing to dream of writing an e-book that will be read by at least one million people. From my experience of one decade, I know that failures are not bad. They indicate that if we continue trying then success is waiting for us. No, I am not philosophical- I assure you that this is the reality.  

I feel very happy with this dream. I know that it is not a dream only. It really can someday become a reality. This month, already, 286,000 visitors visited our blog. They read our content. Of course, the entries are sort of one time reading content. The visitors are searching for something and they read it and then don’t come back. We mainly cover news and news is perhaps like that. Anyway, we have now 98 followers which is cool.

The good part is that my health has finally improved and I feel good after writing this particular entry.

Did you enjoy it? Most probably not.