Wednesday, February 8, 2017

All Writers Matter!



Millions of people every year seek refuge from the perils of the world by writing.  But does our nation or the world really understand and appreciate the life and existence of the writer?  All writers matter!

Writers should be seen as heroes, entertainers, philosophers, and record-keepers.  They inspire others and challenge the norms. They make us think and put things in perspective.  They lead our thoughts and champion the truth.  They do so much for society – but are writers valued? All writers matter!

Certainly if we’re talking about compensation and money, most writers do not earn their worth.  They contribute far more than they are paid.  Studies have shown that most writers earn below the poverty level.  It’s very hard to be a full-time writer unless someone else is paying the bills – a spouse, parent, sponsor.  Poets, essayists, journalists, authors, bloggers and other writers contribute so much to a world that gives back so little when you look at dollars and cents.  All writers matter!

For some writers, they risk their life or freedom to practice their craft.  Even in America, writers act under the risk of lawsuits or being blacklisted by potential employers if they “write the wrong thing.” Censorship and book bans make free speech tricky for many writers.  All writers matter!

The lifestyle of many writers is atrocious.  Just sitting all of the time and reading, writing, researching, and editing makes for an unhealthy, sedentary life that takes years off of your lifespan.  Throw in the abuse of addiction – alcohol/drugs, a bad habit - smoking/insomnia, and poor eating habits and the writer is slowly killing himself.  All writers matter!

Writers have to weather a ton of criticism, from the media and book reviewers to politicians who disagree with them, to judgmental readers on social media.  They often need the blessing of an editor or a book publishing acquisition editor in order to proceed.  Writers are challenged, critiqued, even bullied.  All writers matter!

Many people are relationship-challenged and the writer appears to have more than his/her fair share of stunted relationships.  No one fully understands the writer -- not even the writer.  All writers matter!

The writer can be gifted.  He or she is open-minded, emotionally-raw, and above-average intellectually.  But because he can see what others can’t or won’t, it becomes a burden.  It’s hard to confront the truth so often, so fully head on.  All writers matter.

Many writers suffer from depression or are mentally injured by a past experience.  It’s from this angst and turmoil that writers get their inspiration.  But they are damaged, almost incapacitated and crippled by all that swirls in their head.  They seek therapeutic help in their writing.  Writing becomes their safety zone, a place where the gifted and even spiritual can find solace to work out life’s traumas, shortfalls, losses, and ugliness.  Writers suffer for their craft. All writers matter!

Writers look where others won’t.  They ask questions few others dare to.  They analyze and theorize.  They fantasize and try out different paths until they arrive at the unvarnished truth or create an alternative one that helps bring about a better world.  They are forced to look at the darkness without a flashlight.  They are overwhelmed by the cruelty and emptiness of humanity, but they strive to make sense of it and give strength to the helpless, empowerment to the hopeless, and vision to the blind. All writers matter!

Some writers will go through a war zone to get a story.  They’ll challenge authority and risk death, injury, jail, or job loss.  They will risk their sanity, long-term health, relationships, wallets, and soul to pursue a good story and to write about it in a way that creates justice or love or laughter.  Writers, they try so hard to produce so little, but they are the true leaders and stars of our generation.  All writers matter!

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs 

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