I was a journalist who dropped out of the biz relatively quickly because the pay sucked, the hours sucked and the stress was crippling me (literally--I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and could barely brush my teeth). I'm now a grant writer for a research instution, get to interview scientists and doctors all day and write about their work. The pay and benefits are decent, much better than I ever got as a journalist. The hours are strictly 8:30-5:30, no overtime, no weekends. I could make even more money if I went to work for a big corporation like Kaiser but I prefer to stay in my low-stress, very interesting job.

All this to say that there are many options for writers outside of editorial work and if you develop a specialty niche, like medical writing, you will be way ahead of the game in terms of employability and income.

In my spare time I'm writing a novel. It's slow going, but I prefer to keep my personal writing personal. No pressure to spice it up in order to sell it. No need to compromise. My art and my income are completely separate and that's the way I like it.

I'm at work, for a writers' organization, actually, so I can make a slight case that this is part of my job. I only skimmed through the first five 'pages' of responses, but I didn't see anything about guilds or associations or like-minded groups.

So here's my absolutely objective advice: join a writers' group! It doesn't have to be the WGA. It could be something at the state or provincial level, it could be genre-specific, it could cater to those within Nutbush city limits only, it could be a group of Christian writers who meet in a chilly church basement. Whatever. Become a joiner, become a part of a community. Find out what other people are doing and find out how they are doing it. Often these groups will have information sessions, panel discussions, networking opportunities, multi-session courses, what have you. These groups exist specifically for people in your situation. And depending where you live (I don't want to be presumtuous), membership fees are probably tax-deductable.

You don't need to lie (I think Cary was kidding, no?), you don't need to fudge or plagiarize. Write, think, read, and do stuff so you can write about it. If you are an American, it is an election year. Volunteer for a political party and write about it. Volunteer to work the election and write about your experiences. (It doesn't have to be reportage: If you consider yourself more of a fiction writer, write a personal, Granta-type essay.) I've worked elections, and then followed up with essays from 'behind the scenes.' I don't give advice I wouldn't follow myself.

And ditch the "I'm damn good" thinking. I'm sure you are damn good, but there's a fine line between pride and overconfidence. Submit some stuff, and prepare to be edited, whether you're damn good or not. And make life smooth for editors. They are under the gun, too. Turn in good, accurate copy, within 10% of word count, on time, and cheerfully. If there is a problem, or some paragraph needs to be rewritten, respond 'yes' with exclamation marks. If you make life easier for them, you'll be rewarded.

Okay, back to the salt mine.

Do this:

- Learn how to write really really well. Practice practice practice.

- Learn to select meaningful subjects and learn how to write about them interestingly.

- Get really, really lucky.

That's if you want to get paid. The fact is, you are a writer. It's what you do. It is what you aspired to. But making a living at it is something totally else again, and becoming a starving expatriate in Paris struggling to 'make it' may sound romantic - until you find out how many others ahead of you starved to death while struggling to 'make it'.

Honestly, the best way to become a writer is to do something else that requires that you write well - just not for the sake of writing. That could be just about anything.

For example. My job description does not say 'author'. Not even something similar. But a third of what I do is writing, at least.

I wanted to be a writer when I was young, also. The box of rejection letters is still here. So I gave it up and went off and did something else. And I ended up a writer anyway.

Sometimes it is better to consider that your intended ends would serve you better if you treated them instead as means. You could very well end up where you wanted to be in the first place, even if the road that gets you there was not the one you expected to take.

I've been making my living (and a damned good on) as a freelance writer for more than 13 years, and though I now earn 95% of my income ghostwriting and co-writing nonfiction books, I started as an ad copywriter. That's a great place to get some experience. Even if you have no background in advertising, you can go to local businesses and offer to write their ads, brochures, websites or direct mail pieces. Offer to do the first one for free to prove you have the chops, then write the shit out of it. Then ask for a decent rate for subsequent work.

Once you have some work in your portfolio, get a job at an ad agency, design shop or web shop and spend a couple of years writing goal-oriented stuff on tight deadlines. You'll learn brevity, how to create actionable copy, and sometimes get a chance to be creative. You'll also make great contacts. That will also give you an income so you can write what you love in your off-time.

One more piece of advice: beware of writer's workshops. Most of them are circle jerks for wannabes who would rather talk about writing than write. The only groups I ever got anything out of were the ones where everyone had to produce a new piece of work every week. Writers learn by writing. Write something every day.

And for God's sake, start your own blog. It's free and simple and you can go off on any subject you like. What could be better than that?