I’ve said before that the biggest moment for me in getting published was when I determined what I wanted as a writer.
There are so many directions that you can follow with writing. If you want to write professionally, you can choose a job where you’ll write: advertising, radio, TV, stage, newspapers, freelance writing, etc. You don’t have to write novels or nonfiction books to satisfy the writing urge.
I’ve also spoken to several writing groups before. There were writers in these groups who were perfectly satisfied writing for a small audience of readers. Maybe they were penning a family history or writing a memoir to be handed down. And there is nothing wrong with that—you save yourself a lot of trouble by realizing that’s what you want and that you don’t need to query or write synopses.
Then there are writers who are really writing just to please themselves. Many poets I’ve met fall into this category. And it’s an incredibly satisfying thing—writing poetry and journaling. It’s a voyage of self-discovery.
The important thing is to know what you want to do. Maybe you’re interested in being published but you don’t want to go through the hassle of agents, editors, and publishers. If you’re wanting to share your book with some family and friends, then self-publishing might be an option for you (you need to be careful and go through a reputable self-publisher. Check Preditors and Editors and Writers Beware.)
You might be satisfied by being published by magazines, or ezines. You might be satisfied by entering contests (watch those entry fees. Again…Writers Beware.)
Small publishers might be the perfect fit for you. It’s usually not necessary to have an agent and you usually get the distribution (and paycheck) you’re looking for.
None of these things is better than the others. They’re just different. I was just as happy writing for myself as I am writing for my publishers and readers now. I just wasn’t quite satisfied with it, so I decided to take the next step. There are good points and bad points for all of them. But you have to figure out what exactly it is that you want. Only then can you do the research and work required to achieve your goal.
Elizabeth – Thanks for the tips and the links. You are so right thtat there are a number of writing paths one can take. For me, well, it’s crime fiction. But I’ve done a bit of poetry and short story writing, too, and my hat is off to folks who do those kinds of writing all the time. Like Ann, I can’t imagine not writing…
Great advice. Glad you gave links to those sites.
I know I would like to make some money from my writing (if only to appease my husband) but even if I couldn’t make money from my books, I would have to continue writing for my sanity. I’m glad the readers that I have like what I write.
ann
A timely post.
I’m not sure yet what I want? I have the poet’s heart and the novelist’s heart – and the journalist’s heart.
I think ultimately I want the journey – however it comes out. I want to say I tried.
I love learning, I crave stimulation, so for me the journey is the award.
So true to reach the goal we must know the aim. With luck I’ll know mine soon. Until then I’m having fun. :)
~ Corra
from the desk of a writer
So very true – not everyone is after the same thing. Self awareness is always good! :)
Ah, another version of the ever-popular “what do I want to do with my life” question.
It took me a while to figure it out, and, of course, it’s always subject to change.
BTW, I think you’d make a pretty good life coach. So if you ever get bored with your novel writing…
I’ve been working out what I want to achieve and it’s such an exciting process! There are so many exciting characters and settings I want to explore, and so many possibilities. I guess you could say I want to be a novelist :)
Very true. If you’re not doing what you want, you’re not going to enjoy it.
I took the leap and I’m glad, like you, that I did. Lately though, I’m getting so much work as an editor I make more $ doing that than from my book royalites. But I’m staying the course – ONE day the world will recognize The Old Silly as a novelist par excellence and I’ll make a royal living off of royalties … KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE! (wink)
Good post, as always.
Marvin D Wilson
Ann–I have to admit that writing, if you divide it up into hourly pay, brings in a really small income. But you could look into freelancing articles. There are tons of blogs that cover freelancing. You can make a decent income writing articles for businesses, I think. And then you could write fiction for fun..and possibly some profit later.
Corra–You could always be a journalist for your day job and then write at the beginning and end of the day…if that’s not too much writing! I think I remember being sick of writing after a day of doing it for work.
Margot–I think short stories and poetry are harder than novel writing. Very tricky..less room for error. My hat’s off to them, too!
Rhiannon–I don’t know too many novelists who are satisfied keeping novels to themselves…too much work goes into it and the characters become friends. We want to share our friends with the rest of the world!
Jemi–I think sometimes we just have to figure out what it is that we DO want. So many options!
Marvin–I know what you mean! Good thing we don’t write for the money, right?
Alan–What color is YOUR parachute? :) I dunno, I think I’d likely get impatient with people who have a hard time goal-setting. Patience isn’t my strong suit. I’m working on it!
Excellent post. Don’t everyone wants to be published by a big house and spend weeks on the road or on the Internet promoting their books. I enjoyed your post and all the different avenues you covered.
Helen
Straight From Hel
When I first started writing I really was just writing for me. Then I started thinking that I wanted to get my work out there. I agree that you do need to decide what you are writing for because it changes how you write and what you write. Thanks for the great advice.
So right on Elizabeth! In my old writing group no one but me wanted to be published. I liked meeting with them but it was frustrating. Now I just consider it an eating and chatting group and all is fine. Sometimes I might get a decent poem out of it!
Elizabeth, that’s the first thing I cover in my publish & promote seminars – what do YOU want to accomplish?
Helen–Exactly. And this business isn’t for everybody. I think you really, really have to want it to put up with all the downsides to it!
Terry–And sometimes I think people think that getting published is what they *should* want, but it isn’t *really* what they want.
Jan–Me too! I was in exactly the same kind of group. They were nice people, but I felt like the only really driven one in the group…I had to politely drop out.
Diane–Do you find that it’s something many people haven’t considered? I think sometimes people get busy and don’t actually sit down and evaluate what exactly they want.
I know what I want and I also know to be realistic, too.
I started writing at the age of seven. I can’t stop, so I suppose I do it for myself.
Alex–It’s definitely good to expect bumps along the road. Very helpful to develop a thick skin when it comes to writing.
Elizabeth–We’re addicted, aren’t we? :)
I love the challenge of taking the next step and trying something new. Even blogging is an adventure I hadn’t seriously considered until this year. Would I like to make real money? Definitely. Will I keep writing even I don’t sell the next book? Definitely. I’d probably try something in a totally different genre.
I love writing for myself (journals mostly–I’m too chicken to attempt poetry), and I think I would have fun writing for TV, if only to justify my TV-watching habit, but I want to be a published author more than anything. It was always that distant goal while I was going to college and doing other things. I had the most amazing taste of what it might be like when a friend test-read my first manuscript. I’d never let anyone (other than teachers) read my work before that, and my jaw dropped when she talked about my characters by name, reminisced on her favorite scenes and mused about the underlying themes. That experience of sharing my inner world with someone was kinda transcendent. I think I’m addicted and want lots more readers :)
This was a really good post for me to read and think about.
I feel uncertain of what direction my writing should take and I know I need to work on that.
Thanks for laying it all out for me in such a clear way!
Indie