How to (Maybe) Succeed as a Writer
Here’s some pragmatic, sort of uplifting advice on how to be a writer for this, the ass-end of this foulest of foul years, 2020. I’ve found that writing, like much of everthing else in today’s world, comes down to simple mindset and attitude. Here’s how to adjust yours for maximum possible success.
Figure Out What Success Means to You
Success is different for everyone, every writer. For you success might mean placing a novel with a major publisher and making the New York Times Bestseller List. For someone else it’s winning the Hugo. Success might mean making $1,000,000 from your writing, while others would be estatic if they earned $2,000 a month. Success means different things to different people. Before diving in, you need to decide what success looks like to you. That way you can not only plan for that success by learing from the right people, but you’ll avoid comparisionitis.
Take the Long View
Chuck Wendig once said, “Writing is a long game, not a short con.” It’s not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It takes a long time to learn how to write well and publish and build an audience. I know it can be frustrating. I’ve been at it for years. But here’s the way I look at it. Recently I turned 46. This time next year I will turn 47 whether or not I ever write another word. The time will still pass, so I might as well spend that time creating something awesome. It is said that, at the end of our lives, we regret the things we did not do more than the things we did. When I’m on my death futon I don’t want to think about all those books I wanted to write but didn’t. What about you?
Know That Writing is Hard (But Everything is Hard)
No lie. Writing is hard. But so is getting up and going to that cubicle monkey job you hate. So is searching for a better job in this time of back to back recessions and COVID-19 and 2020 madness. Everything is hard, and writing is no exception. Realize going in that you’re going to have to take on projects that bore you to tears and threaten to suck out your soul just for a little extra cash. That you’re going to get paid in foreign currency your bank will pretend it has never heard of. That you’ll have prospective clients who brag about making ten grand a minute online but only want to pay you a hundred bucks to set up their entire email marketing funnel. That you’ll get calls from ex-hairdressers who just hung out their shingle as film producers that swell your ego near to bursting just to get their hands on your spec script for free. Every job has things about it that suck. Just latch onto the things about it you love and don’t look back.
Learn to Treat Your Writing as a Business
I hate to burst your creative bubble, but at the end of the day, when your manuscript is finished and it’s time to figure out how to make some money off this thing you’ve birthed, writing is a business. That means you must learn marketing. You must learn how to grow a mailing list. It might mean learning to talk to editors and agents. It means learning copyright. And taxes. And all that boring stuff nobody likes to do but everybody has to at some point. You might as well start now.
Know That You Can Do Everything Right and Still Fail
Yes, I’m just full of uplifting advice today, aren’t I? It’s sad but true. You could do everthing by the book, and still fall flat on your face. It might be through no fault of your own. I mean, look around. It’s 2020. Everything’s a flaming shitshow. But the only way to truly fail, however, is to stop trying. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, take what you have learned, and try again. Be better next time. This is true with any endeavor in life and business.
