My husband has always made a lot more money than me. It used to bother me, but few people in my chosen profession make good money, and everyone in his does. I got to do so much that he never did because I never had a high-powered career.

I enjoyed being there for my son and take pride in having cared for my mother-in-law in the last stages of her life. I’ve acted and served on a non-profit board of directors for an organization that accomplished great things. I spearheaded a committee to raise money and save an historic landmark. I cooked, and I gardened, and I hand-sewed quilts and Halloween costumes. In short, I did a lot of things I wanted to do that I could never have done if I’d had his profession.

I always knew that the writing would be there for me when I needed it, and so it is. I’m not at the level of success yet to which I aspire, but it only takes one great book or screenplay to get there. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be that great. (Have you read 50 Shades of Gray?)

When you do have that bestseller, and you will if you keep at it, your husband’s colleagues will be falling all over themselves to meet you, Michelle. More than a few of them will be green with envy. They’re stuck in a great job that they don’t really enjoy, but the money, prestige, and benefits are too good to give up. They plan to write their novel when they retire and most, if not all of them, never will. You’re far ahead of them there.

Don’t measure yourself by somebody else’s yardstick. Your personal best is what counts. Good luck.