I left this comment on a fellow writer’s blog:

I can now say that I have been writing professionally for about 17 years. In spite of the fact that I have had seven books published, numerous articles, have been paid for my writing, and have even won a couple of small awards, it hasn’t, for me, turned out to be a way to make a living. But I have been able to be a part of thousands of peoples lives, millions if you count my Guideposts article. That is what writing is really about…connecting to more people than you ever could by speaking or going to a day to day job. And maybe, sometimes, making a difference by making them think, or laugh, cry, or pray, or…for one moment not feel so alone. I have to have a “real” job to help pay the bills, but I have to have the real job of writing to have purpose.