5 Things I Wish I’d Known from the Start

May 24

I succumbed to the draw of the writing life during my first workshop in college. I was a terrible writer, unfortunately, but the desire to write was there. As a matter of fact, the desire to write something beautiful, whether poem, short story, or journal entry (at the time I couldn’t fathom writing a novel) became the driving force. What I wanted to write about, I had no idea. I was sure that not much that had happened in my young life qualified as artistic fodder. Still, the inclination remained.

After several writing workshops and many books read, I became better at my trade, and my young friends and I talked about wanting to “make it” as an author. We would give ourselves one year before seeking a “real” job. Yes, we were naively optimistic. But that’s okay. We were writing. I was prepared to become a starving artist, even though I was also ready to get a job to support myself. I had it all figured out: I’d find a job that required me to use my writing skills. In this way, I’d practice my art on my employer’s dime and write whenever I could find the time.

I was dedicated, I’ll give myself that much. But things didn’t work out as planned.

Over the years, I continued to write, but not because I was pushing out the bestsellers or the highly esteemed story collections. I wrote for myself, mostly. Writing took me through some very tough times, and I came to love it for that. The longer I continued to write, the less I cared whether I was published or not. My work won (small) contests and awards, and I had an agent for my first novel. I was moving in the right the direction, but no book contracts arrived at my door. And I learned to accept that. I learned that I love to write, whether I am doing it for myself or for others.

Things I Wished I’d Known from the Start

1) Be ready for the slow burn. Nothing about my writing journey has been a sprint. Not the writing itself, not the feedback from readers, not the “getting the word out about my book.” It might be different for you, but be prepared for a slow ascent because publishing by nature is known for moving at a snail’s pace. In addition, life finds a way to get in the way, and there’s not much you can do about that.

2) Writer career and writing life are two different things. If you want a writing career, you want to make money from your writing. If you want a writing life, you want to gain non-monetary things from your writing. Perhaps you want to take a microscope to the world around you, to life itself, to human interaction and emotion, to the need to connect. Sometimes career and life meet a crossroads, but what if they don’t? Here’s a quote from Noah Lukeman, author of The First Five Pages:

Ask yourself what you would do if you knew you would never be published. Would you still write? If you are truly writing for the art of it, the answer will be yes. And then every word is a victory.

3) To sell books, you will need a platform. If you’re going to have a writing career, you will have to make connections with the writing and reading worlds. Right now much of the platform is online, so get to know an app or two. You’ll need this platform whether you publish traditionally or independently.

4) Persistence is key. Most writers have to learn about writing craft before their books will be publishable. What makes a story work? How does one grip a reader? This type of learning doesn’t happen overnight. It can take years—and many bad pages of writing— before it all comes together.

5) You’ll have to keep learning. Both artistically and technically. Honing your craft goes without saying. Each novel, short story, memoir you write will teach you something new. Second, technology has taken the publishing industry into new territories. With the right tools, you can now publish a book entirely on your own. New apps are taking serial writing to a greater audience. Software is helping writers organize and work more efficiently. Artificial intelligence is creating translations that otherwise would not exist. Finally, if you want to sell books to the general public, promotional skills are a necessity, so you can count on having to relearn how to market your book as the social media platforms evolve.

The publishing industry has changed in countless ways over the years. When I wrote my first novel, there was no Bookstagram or Manuscript Wish List, and print-on-demand was in its infancy. Amazon was not yet the biggest seller of all things. We can only imagine what’s on the horizon. Because there will always be something new, always something out there to change whatever the standard is today. Be prepared to keep learning. Try to stay ahead of the curve.

Or just write. It’s totally up to you.

Next week is my book’s publication date! I’ll be posting something special.

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