A lot of people fall into this category. If you're already upset, you're probably one of the people I'm talking about.

Don't confuse wanna-be writers with amateur writers, although there are amateur writers who fall under the wanna-be label.

Amateur writers are not necessarily a problem. By simple definition, an amateur is someone who does something without getting paid to do it. Everybody is an amateur in the beginning.

A wanna-be writer, on the other hand, is a pain in the ass. I'm talking about someone who decides suddenly he's a writer and wants to make "easy" money doing it. Maybe he's been mislead by a couple of friends or relatives who've told him he has talent, and now he believes he can make a living as a writer without taking the time to study the craft.

Wanna-be writers are easy to recognize. They have no talent for writing, no understanding of the craft, and not even a slight grip on basic grammatical principles. Wanna-be writers won't take advice. They have also been lead to believe they know everything.

Wanna-be writers piss me off.

I have nothing against beginning writers who take the time to learn, who are willing to pay dues to perfect their craft, and who take advice seriously. I'll go out of my way to help those people. They deserve the attention.

I write because I love to write, not because of any financial gains writing provides me. The money I make is a bonus. I wrote long before I made a dime, I'd write if I never made another cent. I do it because it's who I am. I've been doing it a long time. I learned as I went. I continue to learn today. That's what it takes to be a writer.

Here's the deal. If you aren't willing to take the craft serious, if you aren't willing to put the time in, if you can't take advice that will better you as a writer, get the fuck out. Don't  choke up space with rubbish. Leave the writing to the professionals.