I Use This Quote for My Writing Career
It makes more sense than I ever thought it would.
In the 1989 film “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella wanders out into his Iowa cornfield when he hears a voice. It whispers:
“If you build it, they will come.”
It means that he must build a baseball field so that players of the past may visit him. But I’ve taken this quote into account for my writing career, and so far, it’s working out. Here’s how:
I’m Building My Writing Career from the Ground Up
Like many of you, I started writing out of a passion for the act of it. Soon later, I developed my voice, style, and the kind of writing I enjoy.
Nowadays, writing has taken me on one of my wild adventures. And the ride continues.
I served as a senior columnist for the Daily Illini at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I’ve written 500+ articles for Medium in the last year. And I’ve published two books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.
All before I turned 22.
I can’t say that I’ve sold 75 million copies of my books like Harlan Coben, but I’m building my writing career from the ground up. Who knows, maybe I will reach those feats too someday?
Right now, I will keep writing and enjoying the journey.
Your Audience Will Come
Like all of you, I began on Medium with 0.
- 0 followers
- 0 views
- 0 referred members
- 0 reads
I’ve built my audience from the ground up because I kept writing. I never begged for an audience. They came when they liked my writing and thankfully, many of them have stayed along the way.
When you write from your passions, the right people will follow you and become your fans. I know this from experience.
So, keep writing and be patient. That’s how you will win at the writing game.
Closing Thoughts
I never thought a quote from a baseball movie would inspire my writing career, but here we are. I will continue living by this method as long as I can.
And you should too.
Keep writing from the heart and your audience will come. Built your writing career and they will come.
Noah Nelson is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with minors in political science and history. He served as a senior columnist for The Daily Illini, serves as a writer on Medium, and the host of his blog called Nothing But Noah. His books “Life: A Collection of Short Stories” and “Dana and Me: A Memoir” are both available now on Amazon. Like what you read? You can write for Medium too!