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Several months ago I was listening to a Q&A video some small YouTuber had posted and somebody asked him why he got into making videos and he answered by saying, “Videos are an excuse to write stuff, because nobody reads anything anymore so writing the written word on the internet is almost a waste of time, but people still watch videos. So if I write something and turn it into a video I am tricking them into reading it with their ears.” Since hearing that its been something I’ve thought about a lot.
That guy obviously enjoys writhing, as to I, it was probably a talent that he recognized he had, as have I. God gives us talents for us to use them; use them for good and there aren’t that many, if any, better ways to use your talents than to support a family and these days that most often looks like making money. When you recognize your talents this is something worth considering, I’m not saying this is always a good idea, in many cases it’s not, there are plenty of talents like cooking or music where if turned into a career success would be unlikely and could lead wouldn’t be the best for raising a family, it is perfectly fine to leave your talents as hobbies but finding a way to profit off of them is something worth considering.
Now when it comes to my talent for writing it wasn’t something I recognized as a talent or passion when I was picking a college major and considering careers. Writing really wasn’t a part of the major I chose nor is it a big part of the job I have now. I often wonder what my life would look like had I majored in English. This site is really the only place I engage in writing and I enjoy it, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, it has been a good way for me to develop this talent, but it isn’t making me any money, nor is it something I pretend ever will, but is it time for me to turn my writing skill into money?
I could go out and try to find a writing job but I probably won’t find a company that would hire me as a full-time writer because on paper I’m not qualified, I don’t have a relevant degree. Plus, as I predicted years ago AI has screwed up that industry quite a bit. I could become a freelance writer, a few years ago there was a freelancing agency that brought me on as a freelance writer (I gave them a link to one of my articles here as a sample of my work) but I looked through the topics they needed articles written on and nothing interested me and the pay (which was actually generous for the freelance world) wasn’t worth it. And again AI either has or will make freelance writing obsolete. I could write a book, I’ve always wanted to do that. Well I started writing a book about a year ago and soon realized that I didn’t have that much to say so I scrapped that project, I’ll do it when I have something to say, not anytime soon.
So I guess if I want to use my writing in something where I could make money I guess I could trick people into reading my stuff with their ears by making videos. Now if I were to start a YouTube channel or something do I think I’d start making money right away? No, of course not if I made any money in a year of doing it I’d be surprised, even if it were to gain traction I don’t expect I’d ever be quitting my day job for it. But after realizing that making a video is just writing with a few more steps I’ve wondered if it would be something I’d enjoy doing.
Some of you have been following me for quite a while now and might remember that I actually did make a few videos years ago and I’m not proud of them, I never was and I shouldn’t have posted them (I’m going to delete them if I haven’t already) I also didn’t really enjoy making them either. Looking back on that experience I’ve learned that I should go about making videos differently if I did do it again. The most important change would to be involving writing in the process, I was just rambling in the videos I made back then and it turns out I’m not a good rambler. I’d be much better off with a script because writing is where I shine and it is what I enjoy.
Now, I don’t know if this article was helpful to you or not, I wrote it for myself more than anyone so that I could get these thoughts off my chest. Feel free to tell me what you think, just don’t think this article is me telling you to follow your passions or something like that, because that’s bad advice. But it is something worth considering and the internet has enabled a lot of people to do just that.