My life has changed. Taking advantage of the downturn in the semiconductor industry, I have welcomed the chance to quit the life in a cubicle and spend more time seriously concentrating on my writing.
Believe me, it is a mental stretch to step out on a shaky platform and declare that my sole job in life is being a writer. Before, of course, I was a writer, but to the relatives and salesmen, I could always step back and claim the “computer programmer” or “systems analyst” or even “database administrator” as safe, respectable professions.
Now I hand out my “Henry Melton Science Fiction” business cards even when I am talking mundane things, and not just at SF conventions. This past couple of weeks I have been touring the RV camper sales places, looking for a home on wheels, and I have given salesmen my card with a straight face, and a matter of fact reply when they say “Oh, you are a writer?”
Honestly, it doesn’t matter what they think of me. It is all a ploy to keep me on my toes. The hardest thing about being a writer full time is to actually write full time. The more skeptical eyeballs watching me, to see if I fall flat on my face or not, the better. I refuse to hide. I will get these stories sold. Watch me.