As a writer, it’s comforting to see writers in fictional stories. Those characters are instantly relatable, even if they’re not likable or identifiable. Still, books, movies, and shows don’t always paint a realistic picture of what it’s like to be a writer, even though they were dreamed up by writers. There’s no one way to be a writer, but below I share the things I know to be true about writers.
The differing personalities of writers
During my college orientation at a very small university, the incoming writing majors were all crowded into one room where the faculty went over the program and what to expect in our creative writing classes. I remember looking around the room and feeling very comfortable with this group of people, despite the fact that I couldn’t really identify with any of them.
Writers are a mixed bag of personalities. Despite entering adulthood in the early 2000s, there were so many hipsters who insisted on typing their poetry on typewriters and making photocopies to pass around in workshops. Many of them loved obscure music and films. There were the knitters who couldn’t resist working on their Harry Potter-themed scarves during class. And there were the fangirls who loved a particular intellectual property, usually anime, so much that they’d throw screaming and/or crying fits if their love for this topic was challenged.
One thing united us all, though. We were weird. The science faculty, and majors, all said it. We all said it. And we accepted and supported each other’s different brand of weirdness, however that affected our work.
In the real world, the writing community is equally welcoming. There are writers’ groups, conferences, and retreats around every corner. We have entire sites dedicated to discussing stories, whether it be Goodreads groups or IMDB.
A TV writer is going to look, act, and sound different than a published college professor. Some are held in higher regard than others, but that general understanding of what it takes to string words together to share a thought, feeling, or narrative is a deeply bonding shared understanding.
How often writers write
There are different schools of thought about how much you have to write to be a writer. The most successful writers will boast about their early wakeup calls or their high daily word count goals.
In truth, most writers are starving artists. We write in between day jobs, chores, parenting, and other obligations. The guilt of not writing when you could or should be is always there, and when you are disciplined enough to sit down and produce some work, it might not necessarily be anything you’re happy with or can shape into something better.
My current day job is a writing job which I’m very grateful to have found after years where the most writing I was consistently paid to do, besides write emails, was a monthly company newsletter. Unfortunately, writing all day long takes any desire to go home and sit in front of a computer again away.
Starting my blog keeps me consistently writing outside of work, but in terms of creative writing, that has mostly been placed on the back burner. You can only do so much at a time, and since my day job pays the bills and my blog has been such an undertaking and has led to many opportunities and potentially many more, it feels wrong to drop either one to return exclusively or even primarily to novel writing which is a long shot endeavor, even if it is my ultimate goal.
I always told myself that the blog is the platform that will lead to the success of a novel if and when it gets published. The publishing world is a long shot that requires a ton of time and effort for often little to no return. So, you’re forced with the decision on how best to spend your writing time.
It was gratifying a few years ago at a writers’ conference when a speaker told the audience that it was okay to not write every day, week, month, or even for years. It was in direct contrast to those famous authors, those who had admittedly struck gold yet likely struggled to find time to write like everyone else before they got rich, had been telling us. Not writing at all will get you nowhere, but there’s no need to have guilt about putting writing on the backburner if you need or want to spend your time elsewhere.
If you’re truly dedicated, you’ll get back to it when you want to and can. Like reading, you can go into binges and slumps. And when you’re not forcing yourself to do it, ideas will come more naturally and be the inspiration you need to get back to it.
They don’t have to be masters of the English language
I’m always amazed by how many authors don’t know or care to look up the English rules and mechanics. I don’t pretend to be perfect at it or get it right every time. I’m shocked an appalled whenever I write the wrong form of there/their/they’re.
I also used to be very judgmental towards those who didn’t use commas correctly or missed a ton of little things that an editor wrote. But now I leave room for error because you can probably find something that needs to be fixed in everything I’ve published on this blog alone.
Still, it’s so easy to look up English rules. I still can’t get behind the old adage, “That’s what an editor is for.” Sloppiness is not okay, especially once you learn how fierce the competition is.
The publishing process
I always think of that line in Nora Ephron’s Julie and Julia where Amy Adams’ character’s husband reminds her that she wrote a novel, and she answers, “Have a novel.” Despite the confusing correction, I know what she’s getting at, particularly when she adds that no one wanted to publish it.
I don’t think most people know how stiff the competition is when they first start submitting their manuscripts and poetry. The odds are stacked against you to the point where the numbers feel like hitting the lottery. There are things you can do to increase your adds, such as submitting a polished piece, adhering to submission guidelines, writing a grabbing cover letter, and doing your homework in terms of what publishers and audiences are looking for. But even those things don’t guarantee success, maybe just that you’ll get a little further along in the process.
There’s the self-publishing route which is very convenient and gives you all the control but also all of the headaches of editing, typesetting, and marketing which most writers hate. And even if you promote hard, you’ll likely only sell a few dozen copies because you won’t be able to get your book on too many shelves, in libraries, or on Amazon’s search pages. Because no one knows who you are. If you do strike gold like The Martian’s Andy Weir, you will be the exception, not the rule.
See my post My Failed Book Sale for more horror stories about what it’s like to market your own books. That’s not to say that you don’t have to hustle if you’re traditionally published, but at least you have some help in that department.
There are vanity presses where you can split costs and duties with another company. But it too is a gamble and typically a pyramid scheme.
Kindle had tried a program called Kindle Vella in which authors published books in serialized formats, and readers would buy tokens to be able to read each set of chapters. The authors got a cut, Kindle got a cut, and readers got to devour stories like they do TV shows, but the program failed, many believe, due to AI, a brand new threat for flesh and blood authors to compete with.
The money side of things
I’m sure everyone who has ever written a book has been asked if they are rich now that they are a published author, and they have subsequently had to disappoint the person asking the question by explaining that only a very few get to rake in enough royalties to quit their day jobs, and you probably know their names.
I once listened to a group of published authors give speeches on how they marketed their books. One advised how he partnered with a gaming company to turn his fantasy series into an online game. Another showed us the merch she created to sell along with her picture books since even non-readers will be drawn to toys based on her characters. Another went on library tours across her hometown to promote a book about her hometown.
Afterwards, an audience member dared to ask how much they’ve made from their books and these genius marketing techniques. They all grew quiet and then indicated that they couldn’t really track an actual dollar amount, but after costs, it came to maybe a number in the hundreds.
The truth is, writers put in the work in order to leave a legacy in the storytelling world. The monetary side is always part of the goal, if only so we can spend more time writing and supporting ourselves doing so. But we’re doing it anyway, just to do it, because we have to, want to, and because it is fulfilling in other ways.
The way writing makes writers feel
I’ve heard so many writers talk about when they knew they first wanted to be a writer, and it usually involves showing a trusted person a piece of writing and getting some kind of genuine praise for it. Being told, “You’re good at this. You should do it some more” really kick starts the motivation and drive that it takes to write.
I think writers are always chasing that initial validation that their thoughts and skills are worthy of praise. It returns in every good review, every positive comment in a workshop, and every sale, acceptance letter from a literary journal, or even full manuscript request.
Even the most vain of us want recognition for our thoughts and intellect. We want to be told we’re smart, creative, and interesting. What better way to do that than to write our ideas down and see if people like them?
It’s true that writing is therapeutic. Whether it’s journaling or taking a life experience and adapting it into a fictional story, you release something from you when you write. And you get to do so without having to break down to others or pay someone to help you figure out what’s going on in your head. It’s all laid out and might even help someone else identify with the way they’ve been feeling about a particular topic or experience. It’s unifying in a telepathic kind of way which makes it magic.
The editing process
A professor once asked the writing majors in one of my English classes when they felt a piece of writing was finished with the editing process. Everyone else gave concrete answers, such as a certain number of edits or even just a feeling that it’s done when it is truly ready.
I gave the seemingly pessimistic answer that a piece of writing is never done. It can always be improved. I still believe that to this day, based on how often I return to an old piece of writing and want to take a red pen to it. It’s why every few years, I go back to my unpublished manuscripts and give them another go around.
From fixing simple typos to adding and deleting entire scenes, you can always improve upon a piece of writing. Writing is a very human task as full of flaws as we are. That’s what makes it so appealing.
Writing vices
So, does that mean a writer has to be a hot mess to be a great writer? Obviously not.
Some might say that certain great writers did their best work while intoxicated or while dealing with a major mental health situation. But we’ll never know that for sure unless we went to a parallel universe and watched their lives play out with that vice or obstacle taken away.
Even writers who get sober or well later in their careers can’t completely fault their sobriety for a drop in the quality of work. We know that it’s just as likely that they may have run out of appealing ideas, outgrew their style, or their hearts just weren’t into it like they were in the old days.
There are also “learning disabilities” such as ADHD and dyslexia which are complete enemies of the writing world. It’s always fascinating to hear about writers battling the obstacles associated with these diagnoses in order to become writers. They take the extra steps needed to succeed, and that’s admirable and inspirational.
I think our vices can as easily aid us as they can get in our way. Challenges are motivational, and an “I’ll show them attitude” is just the kind of fuel you need to take on a task as intricate and personal as writing.
As therapeutic as writing can be, it can also be frustrating and stressful if it’s not going our way. Even those with a natural talent for writing have to work at it and can always improve and learn to write in any storm. For an example of this see, the guest post Writing Through Chaos by author Bibiana Krall.
Not everyone has it in them
Not to end on a down note, but I’ve come to realize that not everyone can write. I used to think that if you knew your letters and how to write them out, anyone could write. But I’ve attempted to read a lot of self-published work that shows a complete lack of talent. There’s always room for improvement, but I’ve come to find that not everyone has it in them.
There’s nothing haughty about that realization. If anything, it elevates those who can do it and makes them valuable, even if it isn’t always rewarded as such, despite all of the good it does to bring communication, clarity, and camaraderie to the world. Writing saves lives. It makes the world make more sense, and it gives us something more to think about than our daily grind.
What truths about writers did I miss? Leave your answers in the comments below!
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