67 present-day published authors answer the question: To Be Or Not To Be A Writer? Their essays about their personal experiences as writers and authors include: What did you think being a writer would be like when you began and how has it actually turned out to be like so far? What are your personal tales of joys, triumphs or successes, or pitfalls, upsets or failures, as a writer? Who/what/where were your writing muses or influences. If they have changed over time, how so? Do you have a literary role model, who is it, and why them? What advice do you have for any beginning writer? Did you learn this yourself first-hand or from another source? Also includes 21 flash fiction stories and 20 poems.