Why Are ‘Aspiring Writers’ Writing About How to Write? I’m Ranting.
I’ve been published for 60 years (check my portfolio), and I think twice before I share something. I know just how much is luck!
You will notice that there are a lot of people on this platform who are minting money because they come up with headlines like “How to get 10,000 followers in a few months,” and then they tell you to use the ‘follow-for-follow’ method. Just so that you know, that worked fine in 1999. People don’t follow you just because you follow them. Even worse, even if they do, that doesn’t mean they are going to read you. And writers get paid because they are read!
There’s a lot of very bad advice given to people who would like to earn a living by writing on the web — or anywhere else. Now if those people who are giving this advice could actually write, they wouldn’t be writing articles on how to learn to write. Nor would they be charging you money to tell you what you can learn just by googling the topic to learn how to make money from writing (very difficult), and how to do well on Medium and other platforms. Just so that you don’t waste money, let me share some things with you.
- A great deal of it is luck. You can have the talent of a Hemingway, but if you’re not in the right place at the right time, it’s all for nought. I grew up in South Africa. Television was banned. We had a religious government. We were under sanctions. We didn’t have a book publishing industry. I did not have the money to send a manuscript to the UK. It had nothing to do with a lack of talent or drive. It just wasn’t possible. I was born in the wrong country at the wrong time.
- You do actually need to know how to write, and creative writing is a talent. You need to have the kind of thoughts that other people want to read. What they teach you at school, that everybody is entitled to an opinion, will certainly make you feel better about yourself. However, in the real world, it’s having a worthy opinion that counts. And writing about how to practice writing for two hours every morning doesn’t make you a writer. It just means you are repeating what you read elsewhere. A real writer supplies original content.
- Emerging writers do exist. They are strong writers but don’t know the ins and out of the game. They make minor mistakes, but you can hear from the choice of the words that the basics are there. Amanda Hocking made $1.2 million on Amazon in 10 months, and what she wrote was unpublishahble so she self-published. Her grammar and sentence structure was appalling. She got turned down by every publishing house she submitted to. But you know what? The lady had the talent. She was a born storyteller, and she knew how to market. I’m not sure why she was semiliterate, but she was, and she is, definitely a storyteller. The very best to her.
- If you’re a good writer, hang in there. It’s not your fault you aren’t recognized yet. I really do mean it about luck. Here are some tips, though.
- Write about topics that are interesting to other people, but research them well. I spend at least a few hours every day of my life learning new things. That’s why I’m never short of something to write about. It’s impossible to be a writer if you’re copying what every other writer is writing about writing. You need to read about sink holes and about the sixth mass extinction and about injustice and people who change the world.
- Make friends with people in the industry. You do that by going to things like writer’s conventions, interning at newspapers, and even San Diego Comic Con for whom I was a staff volunteer for 10 years. I learnt SEO from other writers. I learn about new publications from other writers. I learn about who to avoid from other writers. Make friends with writers.
- Accept that you might one day be rich and famous, but most of us aren’t. We get by, and sometimes we get lucky. In April, for the first time I passed the $100 mark on Medium. I was also nominated to win the first lot of $500 bonuses. In May, I was flabbergasted when Medium kept distributing my pieces and one went viral (sort of). I earned $3800 and then won another $500. Um. This month, not so good. As a writer, you will have good pay sometimes and no pay at all other times. You either love the craft or you don’t.
- Please, please, please do not be taken in by these hucksters who want you to pay $500 for telling you what you can easily glean by doing some reading. There is really only so much you need to know. They make their money by writing about writing. That is marketing — it is selling a product. They are not writers. Writers write to entertain. Writers write to make you think And writers write to inform you of the serious knowledge of the day. Become a writer. It’s an honorable profession, but only if you act honorably. Don’t write about how to write! (Says me! Well, I’m actually ranting.)
Rant over. And if you ever really want to know something, message me on Facebook or google me. You’ll find me, and I’ll be happy to help you. Gratis.
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Read more articles about writing by Tessa Schlesinger in Born to Write.