Writing for Fun & Profit: What’s Stopping You?
So you want to write. What’s stopping you? Most writers are halted at the outset by lack of knowledge. How about you?
People tell me they know what they want to write, but don’t know how; or they know how to write, but they don’t know what to say or how to say it; or they know how and what to write, but they don’t know how to publish. Or they think that publishing is impossible. Or at least too difficult.
To the extent any of these statements are even a little bit true, they are all as easily dispatched.
I believe that anyone with the desire to write has at least some talent for writing.
Aspiring writers often worry that they have no talent. Often, they think talented writers rise to the top and the rest simply wallow in unfulfilled desire. Again, not true.
While talent is important, talent alone will never propel anyone in any field of endeavor. What is essential is to develop the talent you do have and make the most of it.
Aspiring writers believe “everyone wants to write,” or “the field is too crowded,” or “I’m too [old, young, poor, fill-in-the-blank] to be successful because of all that competition.” Let’s look at these one at a time.
Everyone does not want to write. Trust me on this.
Millions of people don’t even want to read, let alone write. I’ve done countless book appearances in book stores and libraries where customers tell me “I don’t read.” Seems silly, doesn’t it? That someone would come into a bookstore or library and tell a published author that s/he doesn’t read? But it happens. All the time.
Sure, the field is competitive. What field worth participating in isn’t competitive? Aviation? Engineering? Medicine? Law? Politics? Sports? Simply because the field is competitive doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
New authors are published every day. It could just as well happen to you — but not if you don’t do the work. If you give up before you even start. Or if you give up before you get there.
You’re too [old, young, whatever] to “make it”? This is an excuse usually masking understandable fear of failure. Writing is a field that can be entered at any age from any station in life. No matter what your circumstance, you won’t be the first person to publish from that situation. If you doubt this, contact me with your specific “handicap” and I’ll give you at least one example of a person with that same “handicap” who has done what you seek to do.
Publishing your work is far easier today than it has ever been. While there are challenges to getting your work published today, by far the bigger challenge is finding readers who are willing to buy your published work. Finding readers who will read you for free is also challenging. But getting published? Not so much.
So you want to write? Next time, we’ll deal with the first hurdle every published writer must tackle: getting started.
