How To Make A Living As A
Writer - OR
Advice Your Mother Wouldn't Give You!
Rob Parnell
I went to a
seminar entitled, "Is is possible to make a living
as a writer?" It was all fascinating stuff - and
I've paraphrased the best advice I picked up in the
article below.
The four full time writers who stepped up to the podium
agreed on one thing - writing for a living is about
making ends meet. They also agreed, in varying degrees,
with the seemingly reckless advice given below.
Here's a
light hearted look at the nine main attributes a writer
must develop if he or she wants to make a go of it full
time.
1. Don't
do it for the money.
All full
time writers agree on this. If you write expecting to
make heaps with your next MS, it never seems to work out.
It's only the work that is sincere that ever impresses.
Do it for the love of writing.
Of course,
it's ironic that, when you're full time, you ARE actually
doing it for the money - but you just have to develop the
attitude that your integrity is more important than your
bank balance - at least in the short term!
2. Don't
have a back up plan
An artist
friend of mine once said, "I decided to ignore my
parents advice and not give myself anything to fall back
on - because I knew if I did that, I would." Wise
words? Maybe not but exactly how many years have you
wasted not doing what you wanted because it was easier to
work in a lab or get an office job?
Even in my
own case until three years ago, far too many!
I know it
goes against sanity and everything our friends and family
say but it's uncanny how many actors, artists and writers
make it because they never believed they could do
anything else.
3. Learn
to like living poor - at least in the short term
Another
cruel fact - even in our modern, technological age,
society does not approve of nor reward struggling artists
- even though their willingness to 'go without' for the
sake of their art should be applauded rather than
ridiculed.
The simple
truth is, if you chuck in your job and decide to write
full time, unless you're very lucky, you're going to run
out of cash pretty soon. Good motivation to write? Sure
but you might be wise to downshift your lifestyle first,
to make that money go further!
4. Learn
how to manage the people around you
Struggling
authors often complain that, though they themselves can
come to terms with the hard times before the windfall,
the people around them can't. Friends and family never
tire of trying to get you to 'see sense' and get that job
at the call center just to tide you over!
They just
don't get that in your world, that's not a valid - or
sane - option. But don't waste your time arguing with
them - just smile sweetly, nod reassuringly and tell them
you understand their concerns. Then go back to your
writing as soon as you can!
5. Read
as much as you can
Read
anything and everything. Study other people's writing.
Work out what's good and bad. 'Borrow' what works for you
and reject what doesn't. Never plagiarize but do try to
be aware of how others have achieved the ends - and learn
from it.
6. Don't
restrict your options
One of my
main tenets was confirmed by the author of 26 published
novels recently. He said that good writers try all kinds
of mediums and styles. Then, when one sticks - that is,
makes money - they keep doing it.
Try not to
get hung up on just being a novelist or a journalist or a
children's writer. Try them all. Hey, it's a great way to
improve but also, who knows where it might lead?
7. Get a
mentor
I've never
met a professional writer who didn't agree with this one.
You can learn so much, so quickly, just by hooking up -
even for a short time - with someone who's 'been there
and done that.'
Of course
there are all the technical things about writing that you
need to know but having a mentor is about more than that
- it's about gaining insight into the mind of a
professional that teaches you so much about attitude,
mindset and self discipline - the unspoken things that
define you as a writer.
8. Keep
learning
When it
comes to writing you can never know too much and you can
never hear good advice enough times. Keep buying books
and courses about writing, self help and motivation. Keep
your mind focussed on growth, change and constant self
improvement - in your writing and your personal life. It
all helps.
And
finally, the old chestnut:
9.
Never, ever, ever, ever give up.
Perseverance
is as much a curse as a gift. Perseverance can wreck you
life in the short term while you pursue your dreams
against seeming adversity, even hostility sometimes but -
it's also sometimes the only way to make people and the
industry sit up and realize you're serious!
And know
this - I've known many professional writers who make it
that aren't even as - how can I put this tactfully -
aren't quite as talented as some amateurs but... who get
there because they saw it as their absolute RIGHT to be
there! And good on them too, is what I say.
But there's
really only one piece of advice you need to succeed. And
that is to:
