There are no one or two "secrets" to writing career success. You need to master all of the hallmarks of professional writers to succeed consistently.
I have been writing how-to advice for writers for 13 years, and given all of the changes in the industry, you might think that I would have rewritten my entire handbook to adapt it for leaner times.
But with the exception of adding advice on micro-publishing to my body of work, none of the rest of the advice I offer has not really changed dramatically.
That’s because it’s still the calm, focused, and grounded writers, who make the most money.
This is true now and this has always been true.
I notice a higher level of desperation among writers outside my circle of students. Everyone has read the latest reports on the industry and now they are panicked and scrambling.
I think writers have some legitimate challenges today that did not exist five or ten years ago. Five or ten years ago, you could go about your freelancing work without a barrage of media pundits telling you how to feel.
In other words, back then, you could actually focus on doing your work and your biggest challenge, perhaps, was too much isolation. Today, things have swung to the other extreme.
You are expected to do your work while keeping up with an ongoing barrage of media coverage about your industry. There is pressure to keep up with all of this coverage, and make the conference circuit, and know everyone who is worth knowing. You should also try every new way of possibly making money, not burn your bridges, and oh, yes, be absolutely charming and wonderful at all times lest you disappoint your readers.
And somewhere in there, you are supposed to actually do your work.
I do not I teach writer to aim for overnight success, how to make millions, how to retire from something called the “rat race,” or any of that nonsense.
But I do teach them how to focus on their own goals, reach them, and earn money in the process over time. And somehow, in all of this hella ballo about publishing, we seem to be losing this.
If you want to weather this particular storm in the publishing industry right now, I can tell you how: set goals, focus on your work, and reach your goals.
I’m sorry it’s so simple. I am sorry I do not have a handy magic formula guaranteed for overnight success to sell unwitting buyers. What I have is old-fashioned, common sense advice that has always worked and always will.
You want to write for money?
Get a mentor, take classes, build skills, establish a portfolio of your work—work your way up just as every writer since the beginning of time has ever done.
Steer clear of overnight success types as much as possible. There are more and more of them every day it seems. I am sorry to say that they are almost always men. And apparently some of them have no ethics or morals, so long as you plonk down your money to buy their book and help get them to the bestseller lists.
Be careful attending writing conferences and joining organizations that support themselves by selling the dream of getting discovered and getting a book published.
Writing a book isn’t a dream; it’s hard work, whether you get published or publish yourself.
These days a writer like Cheryl Strayed is a dramatic exception. Everyone wants to be her, but few are actually willing to do the amount of work she did.
I interviewed Strayed for Writer’s Digest magazine a while back, and sometimes this quote by her is attributed to me:
“Writers are like farmers: the harvest comes, but only after you toil for a few seasons.”
I understand why folks think I said this. It sounds an awful lot like the advice I typically offer live, online, and in my books. And I heartily concur, but let’s make sure that Cheryl Strayed gets the credit for saying it, not me.
If you are looking for inspiration in these tumultuous times, consider how following her own advice has paid off for her.
And then get back to work. If you want to be a part of the future of publishing, there is only one way to get there. And it has not changed and likely never will.
Focus on your goals, hunker down, and get to work!
If you need help figuring out what your work is, I am more than happy to work with you. Please check out my upcoming classes, Dream Teams, challenges, books and workbooks.
There’s a lot to learn, sure. And there’s even more to practice. But last time I checked, no one was just handed a profession. They had to earn it. And this has also been the case for every successful writer I have ever met. So stop flailing, and start setting reachable goals and reaching them.