"I genuinely feel that those of us writing books need to remember that we are writing them simply because we feel the desperate need to write that particular thing. And unless I feel that way, I shouldn't be writing it because it's not for the financial benefit. It is not because it gives me more time to do things with other people. It doesn't matter how many books or lengthy features you write, it's all kind of a painful process. So you have to do it because you're really invested in the things that you are focused on," says Maggie Messitt, author of Newspaper and The Rainy Season.

Maggie is a professor and a journalist and an author. She's was the founding national director for Report for America and currently is the Norman Eberly professor of practice in journalism. 

Find more about her at maggiemessitt.com and follow her on Instagram @maggiemessitt.

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