I remember the look on my wife's face. But what stuck with me more in that moment was what she said when I told her I was quitting my stable job in banking to start a writing business.
"The heck you will!" she said defiantly.
I'm paraphrasing, of course – trying to keep things PG here. I also couldn't blame her for such a guttural reaction. I mean, who does that? Sure, I had plenty of experience in the writing world up to that point, including a Journalism degree. However, I had turned to banking full-time to support my family and was keeping my writing skills sharp as a side hustle. As I said in my book, Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion For The Written Word, "I was giving up a decent salary to chase a dream that historically doesn't pay well and isn't as stable as banking, selling insurance, or the medical field."
On top of all that, my wife and I had two young boys!
Who was I to put all that on the line and ... dare I say ... only think of myself?
The idea reeked of failure. But I saw things differently. I knew my writing business would work. And despite my wife's initial reaction, which was totally based on a fear of the unknown (again, I couldn't blame her), she gave me her blessing and said she trusted me.
Fast forward nine years later, and I'm grateful to say everything worked out with that crazy idea to start a writing business. I took my leap of faith – quitting the bank just a day later. From there, I immediately created Edit This®, built a client base from scratch, and now have a career that matches my true passion: being a writer.
The moral of this story is don't be afraid to take a leap of faith.
Sometimes, you have to push the envelope to make things happen for yourself. Many people like me want to start a writing business but let all of life’s what-ifs and the possibility of failure get in the way of doing something great.
Don't be that person. You are a great writer. You deserve to have your own writing business.
And that business will be a success! I believe it. And it's time for you to believe it, too!
I've Been in Your Shoes as a Writer!
I started Edit This® with nothing more than a single client, a laptop, and the belief that my dream of becoming the local writer every business owner needs would work.
Did I have all the answers when I started? Absolutely not!
Did I make mistakes? Heck yeah!
Did I have a writing consultant and coach in my corner? No. But I sure wished I did!
I feel an incredible sense of responsibility to share with other writers and editors who are just starting out on their own what worked for me, what didn't, what I wish I did differently, and everything in between. This way, they can start their writing business faster and with more confidence than I ever had all those many years ago.
A writing consulting and coaching professional works collaboratively with a writer to help take their passion for writing from a hobby to a successful freelance writing career. We aren’t your editor, writer, ghostwriter, or second set of eyes, and we won’t take the steps toward small-business ownership for you. But we will coach you through getting that business started, including giving you practical advice, actionable step-by-step instructions, accountability and structure, and anything else we can do to help you overcome obstacles that may pop up.
Everything starts with a FREE 30-minute call. From there, you’ll have three 45-60-minute phone, Zoom, or in-person sessions per month, where we provide customized step-by-step instructions to keep you on track and turn your hobby into a successful writing business.
There are hundreds of ways to flex your creative writing muscles and build a successful freelance writing business. And we want to help.
Thank you for reading!
STEVE GAMEL is the President & Owner of Edit This®, a writing and editing services company in Denton, TX. He is also a consultant and coach and the author of Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word. Steve handles anything involving the written word. Give him a call today to help give your business a clear voice.
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