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Lots of people enjoy writing. It& #39;s enriching, rewarding and promotes articulacy and self-expression. There are a lot of really talented amateur writers out there, many of whom have no desire ever to write for a living.
Ability alone doesn& #39;t determine whether you choose to become a professional writer or whether you decide to keep your writing as a hobby. Just as there some really good cooks out there who could - but don& #39;t want to - become professional chefs.
So why wouldn& #39;t you *want* to do something you love as a job? Well, there are lots of reasons.
Giving up your amateur status means giving up your freedom to write what you want, when you want. You& #39;re working for someone else now. You have to abide by their rules.
It also means more pressure: working with other people; meeting deadlines; paying bills. Some people just don& #39;t want all the baggage, stress and uncertainty that comes with being a professional writer.
It also means extra responsibility. Other jobs depend on what you do, and how well you do it. Other people& #39;s livelihoods - as well as your own - depend on you doing your job right.
Some writers just don& #39;t want that kind of responsibility, pressure or uncertainty. It doesn& #39;t mean they& #39;re not good enough to be professional writers; simply that they wouldn& #39;t enjoy some of the things that come with the job.
Because being a professional writer isn& #39;t just about writing. It& #39;s about teamwork, and taking criticism, and adapting to changed circumstances, and sometimes doing work you don& #39;t really want to do in order to help finance your project.
And yes, of course it can be fun. But the difference between being an amateur and a professional is that the amateur gets to do the fun part without having to worry about money, or other people, or do the work that isn& #39;t as enjoyable.
And this, as a reader, is what you pay for when you read the work of a professional writer. You pay for their expertise; their experience; their commitment; and the whole team of people they worked with to ensure that the end result was as good as it could possibly be.
