I'm not sure those are the right words to use, though, because I know plenty of writers who have no desire to be published professionally (myself included) but who make every effort to be a better writer, to make sure their fics are grammatically correct, spell-checked, realistic, etc.
They probably are the wrong words. I think when I was thinking of people who "want to be professionals" I meant what you're describing-not necessarily the desire to be published, but the desire to write as professional (meaning as well, not as salable) as they can. I'm the same way as you are, I think, about things. Like, I remember once somebody suggesting I go to his voice teacher and he said, "Since you're not a professional he'd go easy on you," and I thought hey, if I was going to go to his class I would want him to treat me as if I was a professional--I mean, even if I have no desire to literally be one I'd want to be the best singer I could be. The idea of having a lower standard just because I wasn't going to make money off it didn't make sense to me.
I do the same thing with dance, really. I'm not professional level, I'm not going to be a professional. That doesn't bother me. But I try to approach classes with the same attitude, and I want to be as good as I can be. I think there's a lot of writers like that in fandom--there are plenty of fanfic writers who have no interest in publishing, or in publishing original fiction, but I would definitely describe as writing at a professional level. And the opposite too--there are people who have carved out some way of making money for themselves in writing despite not having half the skill of some teenaged fanfic writers, and they see no reason to improve because it's all about their personal expression.
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Date: 2005-01-19 01:12 pm (UTC)They probably are the wrong words. I think when I was thinking of people who "want to be professionals" I meant what you're describing-not necessarily the desire to be published, but the desire to write as professional (meaning as well, not as salable) as they can. I'm the same way as you are, I think, about things. Like, I remember once somebody suggesting I go to his voice teacher and he said, "Since you're not a professional he'd go easy on you," and I thought hey, if I was going to go to his class I would want him to treat me as if I was a professional--I mean, even if I have no desire to literally be one I'd want to be the best singer I could be. The idea of having a lower standard just because I wasn't going to make money off it didn't make sense to me.
I do the same thing with dance, really. I'm not professional level, I'm not going to be a professional. That doesn't bother me. But I try to approach classes with the same attitude, and I want to be as good as I can be. I think there's a lot of writers like that in fandom--there are plenty of fanfic writers who have no interest in publishing, or in publishing original fiction, but I would definitely describe as writing at a professional level. And the opposite too--there are people who have carved out some way of making money for themselves in writing despite not having half the skill of some teenaged fanfic writers, and they see no reason to improve because it's all about their personal expression.