I love working from home. My office is in front of this big window with a nice view of the forest behind the house. Sometimes, I can see squirrels moving back and forth like a skittering tight rope dancer  across the power lines. One time it was carrying a plastic bag - I dislike those bags - why would a squirrel even need one?

I am able to watch these things because of my career choice. And yes, it was a choice. I sat down and decided to be a writer and I made it happen. It’s a magical thing when you turn a hobby into a career. In fact, like most writers, I believe that I had no choice but to make writing my career. And I’ve pretty much always known. Once I learned how to create paragraphs back in grade school I was hooked.

Reading was always a pastime that could suck away the hours. I would go to the library and get stacks of books - so many that if I dropped them I would be playing my own version of 52 pickup. Funny how things don’t change. Reading was playtime to me back then, and it still is. Only, my stacks are larger because the books are thicker.

I’m sure you’re reading this hoping I’ll hand you a how-to version of  turning a hobby into a career. I have a hard time telling you to do ABC and then Presto you’ll be able to do it. I learned a long time ago that everyone has a different path and a different learning style and it could take you days, weeks, years… that whole time really … to really master your own system.

But in order to master it, you need to get started. If you craft, make stuff and sell it on eBay or Etsy. If you write, find places that will pay you for your writing. Right now, I would consider blogging and squidoo to be “hobbies” and I am using Blogging to the Bank and Squidoo Queen as well as The Niche Blogger to help me turn those into cash.

My biggest piece of advice is this. Think about what you enjoy doing. Do you knit? You can make money selling knit clothes. Do you write? Become a freelance writer. Once you determine what you want to do, buy one really good resource and apply what you learned. And that’s it. Keep it simple. As you go through the process, you’ll begin to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Even after six years as a writer I am still changing things around.

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