Until now, this textbook has been about professional writing careers. We close with a look at the life of a professional writer.

The fundamental question

How should a writer live his or her life and conduct a career in order to achieve the greatest contribution, compensation, satisfaction and happiness? At the beginning of your working life this may not seem like a big deal: you're too busy with just trying to start your career, not worrying about how to finish it. But trust the author: there will come a time when you ask yourself whether it was all worth it, and what will be your legacy. The sooner you start asking yourself those questions, the better the odds that you will find (or more accurately, create) satisfying answers.

The following is the career wisdom of the author, acquired over the course of forty years as a professional writer. It is incomplete and, in some cases, perhaps even wrong— or at least a poor fit for your life. So, take it as you will, and keep searching for answers from every other professional writer you meet.

Recognize that you will change

Appreciate from the start that the person you are at 20 is not the person you will be at 40 or 60 or 80. Not only will your skills change, but also your interests and your dreams. Don't get stuck trying to live out fantasies that are no longer valid to your life— that is, just because at 20 you wanted to be a novelist, and told everybody so, doesn't mean at 50 you are still obliged to write that novel. No one cares. If something else inspires you instead, go after it— don't linger on the past.

Recognize that the world's perception of you changes as well

As you conduct your career, you will gain a reputation. Find out what that reputation is and don't delude yourself that you are seen as someone you are not. If your reputation is the one you want, then figure out how to cultivate and grow it. If it is not the one you want, then develop a strategy to change that reputation. And don't just sit where you are, trying to maintain the status quo, because your reputation will deteriorate if you don't tend to it.