As someone who works as a freelance audiobook narrator, I can tell you that it isn't easy at all to make ends meet. Sometimes you'll be rolling in cash and be living great, and sometimes you'll be scraping the bottom of your wallet or purse wondering if maybe you should have just kept your job as a night audit instead of following your dream.
But one thing's for certain...it's YOUR dream.
A wise man once told me, "Find out what you believe in, and then find out why." It seems like simple advice, but it's one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Find out what you really, TRULY want, and why. Then pursue it with as much passion and force as you can muster.
Another thing to consider: your dream is YOUR dream, nobody else's. You can accept help in your quest to reach your goals, but don't expect people to understand or even respect you for pursuing them. You will probably never get the respect you think you deserve from your peers- it's a fact of life. I certainly don't.
But don't get depressed over this- it just means you need to give your own life purpose, and stop caring about the opinions of others. Write for yourself. Inject your ideas, opinions, and beliefs into it. If people agree with your vision, they will naturally be attracted to your work. Don't try to force it to change based on what someone else says unless you yourself agree with it.
You should definitely consider your work and your motivations for your work important, but everyone else probably won't, and that's OK. They aren't you, you are you. So be you!
RE: Start to Publish: Launching My First Novel (Part 4)