The Best Advice I can Give New Writers--Give up Now.

7/15/2013

So you want to be a writer, huh? Well, kudos to you. No, seriously. Good for you. But I want to be frank and lay it all out on the table so you know exactly what you're getting yourself into, because this lofty goal of yours is going to be HARD. It is.

First and foremost, everyone and their dog wants to be writers too. Don't believe me, just pop on to twitter and search author or writer and KAPOW...you'll be given a good dose of reality. So, you'll be surrounded by literally KABILLIONS (okay, not literally, but you get the drift) of other people like you wanting the same thing as you do. Some of those people will will go on to publish great books, make trillions of dollars, and become famous--a very small number to be certain. And then there will be a WHOLE bunch of others that will write and hope someone, anyone, will read their work. They struggle to be noticed among the literally KABILLIONS of books being published every year (okay, not literally, but you get the drift). There's a wide division between these two groups of writers and most likely you'll fall among the last group mentioned. Right dab in the middle of it, probably.

"Why Angela, Thank you for crushing my dreams, you jerk!"

Believe me, I understand your anger directed in my direction. I get it. But it doesn't change the truth of the matter. WRITING IS HARD AND YOU WILL STRUGGLE. That is a given. If you don't prepare yourself for that possibility, then GET OUT NOW while you can. Just give up. Walk away and save yourself the trouble of writing a manuscript for years, going through the pains of editing and critiques, all the rejections that will come your way (oh, they will come), negative reviews of your published work, and in the end...scrambling to be noticed among all the new books hitting the virtual shelves every day. Go on, just walk away...no one will judge you for quitting...bye, bye.

Wait...you're still here? Good for you, you little masochist. Hanging in there despite everything I tossed at you. With all of the above to look forward to, why is it that writers/authors keep plugging along, writing story after story? Because most dedicated writers don't know HOW to quit. It's not even a possibility. They don't write for fame or for fortune (if that's why you're doing it, then here's your second chance to get out now), they write because they HAVE to. The little voices force them to write the stories floating around in their heads. They couldn't imagine doing anything else. Oh, of course finding readers to read and enjoy our work is wonderful, getting rave reviews to validate our writing is awesome, and perhaps earning a bit of $$$ would be nice (most likely, the money aspect will look more like this ¢ and NOT like this $), but none of that should matter anyway. If you can't live without those things, if you need validation, praise and a boat load of cash, then once more, I implore you to quit.

You're asking for a lot of trouble, still reading on like you're doing. The reason I'm even writing this blog is that I can't tell you HOW many times I've heard from newly published authors who are upset because they receive negative feedback (Oh, authors can get CRA-ZY) or how angry they are that various marketing plans don't work to get them noticed overnight (HELLO...welcome to the real world). They're upset for putting in HOURS and HOURS (not to mention money out of their own pockets) to publish their manuscript only to have it appear as a failure. Just so you know, NO ONE who writes and finishes a novel is a failure. No one. Many people quit before they finish, so to get even that far is awesome.

If you feel as though you can't live without putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard...If you're willing to let everything else fall where it may and allow the readers, the praise, and the money to trickle in on its own time and in its own way...if you're willing to stick it out for the years it may take...Then you just might be ready for this after all :) Hang in there and write. Write because you not only want to, but because like air, you can't live without it. If that's why you write, then everything else is simply the frosting on a delicious piece of cake.

Why do you write? What keeps you typing along? Why do you want to be a writer? When did you know? I'd love to hear from you.

9 Comments

Cary Caffrey link

7/16/2013 01:57:40 am

I gotta' play devil's advocate here. My advice to new writers is, yes you can, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

I've always enjoyed your blogs (and I enjoyed this), but I think you're WAY off in thinking this is good advice for new writers. And, yes, I get your sentiment and I definitely know where you're coming from, but I think words of discouragement are the last thing new writers need to hear. In fact, this isn't really advice as much as it is a burden for new writers.

New writers need to be encouraged to hone their craft. They need to work on their skills as story tellers. Dealing with the realities of writing professionally should only come much, much later.

All my life, I wanted nothing more than to become a writer. The biggest obstacle wasn't anything you mentioned above though. The biggest hurdle for me was all the people telling me what you're telling new writers here. From the moment I ever mentioned wanting to be a writer, all I got from family and friends was "Don't do it!"

So, you know what? I followed their advice. Rather than simply writing, there was always this voice in the back of my head. "You're going to fail. Give up!" Well, that voice sucks! It was only when I told that voice to shut up, once and for all that I found success. After that, I came at writing from a completely different perspective. My new perspective was, "Why the hell not!"

Now, when I meet people who want to write or do other creative things, I tell them, go for it! I also tell them not to tell anyone that they're doing it. Why? Because I know they'll be met with words of discouragement, or worse, pity. And there's no faster road to failure than listening to the people who tell you you're going to do just that - fail.

So, here's MY advice to new writers: Go for it!

You're right about how cruel the world is to writers, though. That's why I also encourage writers to seek out and find the harshest group of critics they can find (whether that's in a workshop, class, or just giving their manuscripts to readers). Writers shouldn't fear feedback. Writers need to EMBRACE feedback. I've run a lot of workshops, and that's what I always tell people: don't be disappointed by feedback. Use it.

Hearing that your story is wonderful is nice, but it's not necessarily what you need to hear. Learning to deal with criticism and feedback is essential to new writers. That's where you learn, and grow. How you take that criticism can define you as a writer. Helping new writers develop a backbone to deal with criticism can help save them later on, once they start submitting to agents, publishers - especially after publishing. Because, you're right, readers can be tremendously hard on writers.

But now I'm moving away from things 'new writers' need to worry about. Publishing, marketing, dealing with angry readers - these things all come later.

Anyway, like I said. I get where you're coming from. I do. Most writers won't be successful. But I'll never tell them that - not to someone who's new and taking an interest in writing, anyway.

7/16/2013 02:02:19 am

PS - The short rebuttal to your post might have been: Rather than discourage new writers, let's help arm them with the tools they need to deal with everything you just wrote about!

Angela Scott link

7/16/2013 04:49:02 am

You're absolutely right. You are. I have several blogs from years past where I do encourage writers to never give up and to go for it and I still believe in them. This particular blog came from a different place. It came from hearing new writers and authors complaining ALL THE TIME about harsh critiques, not having their particular marketing plan shoot them to the top of the best sellers list, not making the thousands of dollars they expected, or getting a negative review where they go off an a tangent about how readers are stupid. I'm in several writing groups on Facebook, and believe me, these are VERY common discussions and it gets old.

I want writers to write and I want them to pursue their dreams, but I want them to go about it the right way from the very beginning. If they don't understand that the world can be tough and that writing is hard, they will be ill prepared for the realities of being a writer/author/marketer. Hiding it from them won't help.

Only the strong and persistent will survive, and if they go into that with a tough skin and a take no prisoners kind of attitude, they will find success. Writing for fame and fortune will leave them grumbling and they will fail before they can even have a chance to begin. So many writers write only one book and never write again because the author/writer world wasn't what they expected it to be. I'd rather know what I'm getting myself into before diving head long into some crazy delusion.

Write because you can't live without out and let everything else fall into place as it will on its own time--that is my advice.

Very few have overnight success, but the ones who stick it out despite how tough it can get sometimes, will be all the better for it.

Write because you don't know any other way. It's your air. It's your destiny. It's who you are. If you're prepared for all the other stuff, then when it all come crashing down on you, it won't matter at all, because you're doing something you love. That's what new writers should remember :)

7/16/2013 05:53:39 am

I TOTALLY agree with that!

I've had it with people complaining, too. Especially when I get it from stubborn writers who you KNOW are just going to keep going on making the same mistakes over and over. Sometimes I think people want to fail so they can keep on complaining. *sigh*

Scott Smith link

7/20/2013 01:41:37 am

I am a new writer. Just finished my first MS and am hard at work on my second.
I was incredibly lucky to get positive feedback and a request for a partial from the very first agent I queried. Of course, I was also very selective. I made sure that she was looking for my genre. I looked at other published works by her agency. I stalked her blog and twitter. Once I got a 'yes,' I carpet bombed the rest of the publishing world as a plan B. After all, she hadn't requested a full, much less made an offer of representation.
Then it was time to face the rejections that inevitably followed. I was prepared for them because I knew they were shots in the dark, but they still hurt, even when expected. If I had gotten them first(I've had maybe fifteen or so?) I would have been totally dejected for no reason.
I liken it to dating - if you're going to ask every person you see for their number, you probably will end up with quite a few, but you're also going to get WAY more no's along the way. And how many of those random strangers who do talk to you are going to be a good fit anyway? Very few, I would think.
The moral for me personally was to do what I did at first every time out. Do the homework. Be selective. In short, be smart, and the ride will likely be a lot more pleasant.

7/22/2013 07:54:59 am

I completely agree! Write because it's what you love, and prepare for the harder aspects of being a writer as well. Being prepared, doing the right research, and GOING FOR IT (we all have to go for it) is the right way to go about this business. But first and foremost, we have to LOVE being a writer, so that needless of anything else that comes our way, we're okay with it. We expect the rejections and embrace the acceptance. It's the only way :) Best of luck to you.

Denny Rhys

7/20/2013 06:14:39 am

I love your writing voice, smart and sarcastic works with me.
Straight to the point, I'm not published (yet) but I'm not dead so maybe there is time. I'm at a time now in my life where I can afford to think about a new career. For me it is a no brained, I've been writing in some form fashion or medium for the last 25 years. I try to write daily (I manage about 1,500 words a day as of right now) if I miss out on that then my whole night is shot. It's my addiction. The next day will be spent wondering what exactly I missed, what did my muse tell me that I can no longer remember.
Sure I would love validation, who wouldn't. But I'm not going to let anyone, industry included, bring me down. At the end of the day if it only my dog who hears me read him the story aloud then I'll be content. The muse will have been appeased.
It is a hardknock life out there and no one said it was easy or fair. Do what you love when you can afford to do it. Appreciate the support when you get it. Do not count on anyone but the person staring back in the reflection. And for the love of God if you want to write- shut up and write. My rejections keep coming in. I smile every time, there's one less I have to get now before getting my "yes".
Great blog and replies.

7/22/2013 07:58:42 am

Denny, I couldn't have said this any better. This is right on the mark. Perfection :) You're attitude is one we could all learn to embrace and incorporate into our own lives. We write because we'd DIE if we didn't. Everything else--the acceptance, the appraisal, the publishing--that's all frosting on top of an already delicious cake.

andy holloman

8/26/2013 12:51:40 am

hey angela - great post....loved it.....my biggest thing to anyone that asks is that most folks aren't realistic when they think about writing a book....of course that could be an ADVANTAGE, huh? I wouldn't trade my journey for anything over the last two years, changed my life, but the hard reality of writing and then SELLING needs to be first in people's minds when they start down the path....it takes a LOOOOOOOOOOONG (sp?) time!

The Best Advice I can Give New Writers--Give up Now.

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