Reading, Writing and (I Hope) Arithmetic

I'm working on my New Year's Resolutions.

Some are the same every year.

One of those is to write and market my science fiction short stories. I've always listed it as a personal goal, but this year, I'm putting it under my financial goals. And I'm making it public. We'll see if it makes a difference.

It's no secret that unless you're Norman Mailer (in which case, you're dead), Danielle Steele or J.K. Rowling, you're not going to become wealthy as a writer. On the other hand, there really IS a paying market out there for science fiction and fantasy short fiction, unlike the more literary markets where one is supposed to be satisfied with copies of prestigious but usually non-paying Reviews.

I've been reading science fiction since I was fourteen. I started writing it during graduate school. Occasionally, I've sent out my work to various magazines, and even more occasionally, some of it has been published. With that comes a check, usually somewhere between $200 and $600. NOT enough to give up my day job but a nice little bonus for doing something that I love.

So this year's resolution is to stop being a dilettante and start being a REAL writer. Along with that, I hope, comes some REAL money that can be applied to REAL debts.

And you, Dear Reader? Any hobbies that done with more focus and more energy could help increase the cash flow?