Good way in your endeavors

Best wishes from me.

it's a lonely existence. as a 55-year member of the working press, i always had someone on my ass. i can't contemplate working without a net. i wish you luck

It is indeed a common ailment in the early days, but take heart for the path, though tortuous and rocky, has its rewards. There is wisdom in the words, "Never quit your day job until your fifth sale to a B&M publisher," but that admonition should not be a restraint to anyone with the courage. After all, the worst that can happen is you need to find a job later. Big deal. Below is an excerpt from my audio drama, A Uniform Shade of Red, that is pertinent to the emotions you must be feeling.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

When I was very young, my father had it set in his mind that I would follow in his footsteps and take over the family shoe store. Three generations of Pendergasts had run that store and he let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that he was not about to see that chain broken.

Mom, of course, had other ideas and tried to interest me in becoming a doctor. Their division over the issue persisted for several years until they reached a compromise they found mutually acceptable. I, they said, would become a podiatrist and my little brother, Danny, would run the store. Danny would lease me space above the store at cost-plus ten and we could feed off each other, like sharks in a feeding frenzy. That came as a shock to me.

MARTHA: “What’s wrong, Teddy? Did we say something?”

THEODORE: “Yes, you did, and, no, I don’t want to be a whateverologist or a somethingiatrist. I’m sorry, but all I’ve ever wanted to do is write. I want to be an…an author.”

Well, I might as well have said I wanted to be a kiddy-porn baron, or that I was a serial rapist in training.

ARTHUR: “What did I tell you, Martha? Your son’s going to be a no-account bum. He doesn’t even give us the courtesy of sinking into the gutter over time. No, he…he plans this idiocy in advance!”

MARTHA: “Son…Teddy, are you sure you don’t want to work for a living like normal people? Your father and I would like to see you make something of yourself, be somebody.”

DANNY: “Yer stupid, Teddy. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”