Second Act - My Move from Nursing to Writing

What made you go from nursing to writing?

How did you make the transition to writing?

Don't you miss nursing?

When did you decide to leave nursing and become a writer?

These are just a few of the questions I've been asked over the past few years when people learn that I changed professions when I was in my forties, taking a chance on a new life. I'm not unique in this position. All you have to do is have a look at SecondAct.com to learn about many women who have done the same and some in a much more dramatic manner. My writing seems rather tame compared to stand-up paddle boarding or becoming a model.

So, what happened to me and why? Or, "How I decided to be what I wanted to be when I grew up."

First, writing has always been something that I did well. In school, I prayed for essay exams, because even if I didn't know the subject completely, I was good at writing my answers in a way that often made it sound like I did.

This didn't always work, but I had a better chance skirting the questions this way than with multiple choice exam questions. Thinking back though, it might have been easier if I had just done the homework and studied a bit more...

All kidding aside, writing was something I liked to do and I knew I could do it. But, writing as a career never really seemed to be an option. I wasn't an outstanding writer and other than newspaper reporting or writing books, there didn't seem to be a viable way to earn a living using words. So, I did the next best thing. I chose a profession where I knew there would be work.

Although I enjoyed working as a nurse, I was frequently exhausted or not feeling well. Working shifts really didn't help matters either. Little did I know at that time that I was living with fibromyalgia. That diagnosis wasn't made until I was just shy of my fiftieth birthday.

In the mid 1990s, while I was head nurse at a summer camp for physically handicapped children, I saw a small ad in the Montreal Gazette. Someone was looking for a nurse with good communication skills and who knew how to use the Internet.

Hey! That was me! And I got the job.

It was a virtual job - the company had no offices. This is where I got my first taste of telecommuting. My children were in elementary school and I was working - full time - from home. Things couldn't get much better than that in my book.

Time passed, jobs changed. I continued to work as a nurse at various times to both keep my license and because I couldn't yet give up that part of my life. And then, the time came. When I was in my early forties, a set of circumstances occurred that pushed me into what I'd been wanting to do but dared not do: work full time as a writer.

Could I do it? 

Was I good enough? 

Would I find enough clients and jobs? 

What if I failed?

What's that expression: the proof is in the pudding? The first year I worked full-time from my home office, self-employed, hustling for work, I made more money than I did working full-time as an RN. Of course, in Quebec, that's not hard (sorry, still a bit bitter about nursing salaries here!).

Over the years, I cultivated some great, well-paying clients, said good-bye to some that didn't pay as well as I needed/wanted, and I've built myself a rather successful one-woman show. I've got some great clients and I have fun. I speak to incredibly interesting people, both fellow writers and people I interview for articles or projects.

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I go to workshops and conferences where I meet other writers and editors, and I learn more about my craft. Lately, I have been given the opportunity to teach others too.

Last month, I was in New York City attending the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) conference, where I spoke on a panel about writing for trade magazines. Next month, I'll be in Toronto at the MagNet convention, participating on another panel about taking your writing career to the next level.

So, could I do it? 

You bet I could! And I did.

Was I good enough? 

My clients sure think so. And I don't often seek out work anymore. Many times, clients will come to me.

Would I find enough clients and jobs? 

While sometimes I worry, because I think all self-employed people do, I have yet to find myself in a situation where I don't have enough work. Of course, self-employed people always have to market themselves, so that's what I do. And it's not as hard as I thought it was.

What if I failed? 

Well, I didn't. But if I had, would it have been so terrible? I always used to tell my children, "Don't tell me you can't do something unless you have tried to do it and you failed. Only then can you say that you can't."

So, am I a grown up now?