My first November as a professional writer wasn’t an easy one. My only client failed to pay his bill, I was receiving more rejections than assignments, my arthritis was flaring and my cat got $1,200-worth-of-vet-bills sick. I didn’t know how I was going to make my house payment and my stomach was upset. I stopped sleeping. But, I never stopped hoping. I believed that I could make this writing business work, and I set to work making that happen.