A few years ago a playwright wrote in a local newspaper column that he was about to lose that source of income, because the column was being cancelled. He was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to continue writing full-time. At the time I thought, so what? Only a small portion of writers can earn enough money through writing to pay the bills, so they do what they have to do. But that doesn’t make it any easier. My experience, which I’m sure many writers can relate to, is the only time I’m “in the flow,” is when I’m writing.

This weekend professional golfers are competing in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Course. Watching these athletes, you can see their intense focus and admire their excellent eye-hand coordination. They are ambitious and determined, and could excel in many other careers, but at some point they had to decide whether it was worth the risk to give up other options and focus on a career in golf.

Writers go through a similar process. Many years ago I came to the conclusion that I’d earn more money working “normal jobs,” than writing. Making a living as a writer can be a struggle, putting together a patchwork of incomes from royalties, writer-in-residence stints, government grants that you continually have to reapply for, teaching seminars, freelance writing jobs and ghost writing…. From the data I’ve seen, I earn more money as a Forklift Operator, than many writers earn.

Perhaps the most difficult part of being a writer, who doesn’t write for a living, is you may find other types of work a struggle. If writing is your gift, it might feel like you spend your life trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. If so, you’re not alone.

The next time you pass a golf course and see all those part-time golfers swinging clubs, consider that, if only for a short time, they are in the flow. Then take out your laptop and spend some time writing, let your passions flow on the screen. Maybe you can only write part-time, but in that time you can create stories that no one else can.

Copyright © 2025 by J. Paul Cooper.

Recently, I paid $69 CDN for the BBC Maestro Course: Harlan Coben – Writing Thrillers. Since it involved a Black Friday discount of 40%, I didn’t pay the regular price, but even if I had paid the full price, it would have been worth it.

As soon as I saw Harlen Coben’s name on a course, I was interested. The first novel by Harlan that I read was The Stranger, which was adapted for a drama series by Netflix and they were both excellent. As far as credentials go, visit his website, http://www.harlancoben.com and look up his name on the Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com, because there’s no room to list all his accomplishments in a single blog.

Although you could listen to all course lessons in one sitting, they are divided into ten to twenty minute segments on each topic, which makes it convenient for anyone with a busy schedule.

The course material is beneficial for both beginning writers and experienced scribes who want to want to think deeply about their craft. Even though most of the videos consist of Harlan sitting in a chair, talking, I didn’t find the material boring; I was inspired to start writing again, something I’ve been procrastinating about for far too long.

Jack Canfield has said about his book, The Success Principles, “the principles always work, if you apply the principles.” The same can be said about the material in Harlan Coben’s BBC Maestro course, if you take his advice seriously and apply it to your writing, your writing will improve. Although the course description is Writing Thrillers, the material covers all the key aspects of writing a novel, and would also be useful for writing science fiction, or any genre that involves drama.

As for myself: Over the last three weeks, two of my short stories have been accepted for publication by literary journals, and one of my screenplays made the quarterfinals of the Final Draft/Big Break screenwriting competition.

Copyright © 2024 by J. Paul Cooper

If you’re a writer, you’re a gambler, even if you’ve never played blackjack or roulette. You make bets at the literary casino with the most valuable, irreplaceable resource – time.

Perhaps the greatest challenge is deciding how much time you’re prepared to wager on a single bet. You start writing a short story, but soon realise that fully developing the concept will require a much larger project. You were prepared to gamble a few hours on a short story, but are you willing to go all in with several months or a year on a novel?                                                 

When you’re a player at the literary casino, you must be flexible, ready to change the game. You have a great story idea which you plan to write as a novel, but then you find out a local theatre company is looking for new plays. Why not roll the dice, and write one based on your story idea? If your play is chosen, your name will appear in the program; an excellent opportunity to raise your public profile. A good review mentioning your name in a newspaper or magazine would be even better     

Playing at the literary casino requires strategy. Once you’ve finished writing a book, do you send the manuscript to a traditional publisher, or do you self-publish? It could take months or years to find a traditional publisher willing to print your book, but it’s more likely to be placed in physical bookstores and libraries, than self-published books.

If you want to keep costs down and publish your book immediately, you can self-publish an eBook. The downside is that, if it’s only available as an eBook, it won’t be as visible as physical books on shelves and display tables.

Due to the popularity of self-published eBooks, a new industry has developed: pre-made eBook covers. Although it’s convenient, you have to be careful, because some of the eBook cover designers offer the same cover for multiple sales. In other words, you could end up buying a cover that has already been used for another writer’s eBook.

Especially for writers without an agent, trying to sell feature length screenplays is probably the most challenging game at the literary casino. It’s a high-risk gamble with time, because many film and television companies won’t read a screenplay unless it’s submitted by an agent, and some agents won’t take you on as a client, until you’ve already sold a screenplay, or at least had one optioned.

Fortunately, there are still some film companies willing to accept unsolicited screenplays from writers without agents. Before they read your screenplay, however, you’ll have to sign a release agreement, acknowledging that they may have already received screenplays with concepts similar to the one you’re submitting. It will be difficult (if not impossible) to take legal action if they produce a film with a concept similar to the one you’ve submitted. Despite the potential risk, I’ve submitted screenplays to numerous film and television companies, after signing release agreements. If you want to play this game, you better have steady nerves.   

Imagine that you’ve just had a screenplay accepted by a film company. If they’re willing to pay you up front, that’s great, but you might be asked to make a wager on the film itself. An independent film company with limited resources might offer you a deferred payment option, promising you a portion of the film’s profit. Although it’s possible the film won’t make any money, and therefore you won’t get paid, don’t walk away from the table yet; there’s still the onscreen credit to consider. The cold, hard reality is that until you have an onscreen credit, the film and television industry doesn’t know you exist. Even if the deferred payment option doesn’t put any cash in your bank account, you should make sure you get an onscreen credit for your efforts.   

Consulting with a lawyer is always a wise decision before signing contracts. As with agents, lawyers know what has to be included in contracts,mmn to protect your interests.  

What’s exciting about the literary casino is that once you learn the basics, there’s no limit to the games you can play. The writing skills you acquire in high school and university are the building blocks you need to write blogs, articles, essays, short stories, plays, novels, non-fiction books, and screenplays. Once you decide to play, the only question is how much time you’re willing to wager. The stakes get higher, the more hours you spend working on a project, but so do the potential rewards.

A warning to anyone interested in betting their time at the literary casino; writing is addictive. There are novelists and screenwriters who’ve earned millions through their craft and could retire at any time, but continue to create new material. They can’t stop, because they love the game.