If you write and you’re not a wooden puppet carved by an old Italian guy named Gepetto, you’re a real writer.
by Anne R. Allen
I’ve read a lot of articles recently about what it means to be a “real writer.” Each one is based on a different definition of what a “real writer” is.
There’s the copywriter making six figures who gets ignored at a dinner party while people fawn over the novelist who’s making $400, because the guests think only a novelist is a”real writer.”
There’s the writer/blogger who wrote a piece on 3 hacks to make you a better writer, but one of his “hacks” is an outline that only works for a particular type of business writing. No mention of the fact that a novelist might be a writer too. (His other “hacks” are great advice, though.)
Then there’s the bestselling trad-pubbed novelist on a book tour who doesn’t feel like a “real writer” because she didn’t pay the usual dues of years of struggle–and her first novel became an instant bestseller.
I think most of us have had our doubts about calling ourselves “real writers.” I’ve certainly suffered through the “OMG I’m-not-really-a-writer, why-am-I-kidding-myself” blues. Former agent Nathan Bransford calls them the “Am-I-Crazies.”
Most writers have been there.
- You took your screenplay to a workshop and it got savaged by everybody including your BFF.
- Your novel has a saggy middle that you’re stuck in like quicksand.
- You’ve written 20 posts on Medium and all you’ve got is 6 lousy claps.
- That self-published story collection has dismal sales and two reviews, one of which gives it 2 stars and says, “Pretty color, but it runs small. Had to return it.”
- Your mom has refused to listen to one more word about the unfairness of the publishing industry and sticks her fingers in her ears and sings “la, la, la” when you mention that partial the agent has had for a year.
After a sleepless, agonizing night, you decide you’re unworthy to call yourself a writer.
So how DO you know if you’re a writer? A REAL writer?
We have a ridiculous notion in our culture that there’s only one kind of “real writer.” That’s usually a bestselling novelist, memoirist, or inspirational book author who makes millions and gets to hang out with Stephen King, David Sedaris, and/or Jean Shinoda Bolen.
This is amazingly myopic. That’s like saying the only “real accountants” are the ones with the briefcases who bring those envelopes to the Academy Awards.
Writing has nothing to do with celebrity. Most writers aren’t famous. Most writers don’t make 100% of their income from writing. The ones who do are usually writing advertising copy.
Here’s the basic truth: if you go off by yourself at regular intervals to create stuff using words, you’re a writer.
- If you’re “just a blogger” who’s only written a few posts on that new blog.
- Or you’ve been slogging away on a novel that’s years away from being publishable.
- You’ve written the opening scenes for 12 screenplays, but haven’t been able to finish one.
- Or your bedroom drawer is full of poems that you haven’t shown to anybody but your cat.
- You write the newsletter for three clubs and contribute regularly to the local newspaper, but you have no interest in writing fiction.
You’re still a writer.
A writer is a person who writes.
Full stop.
Some people are born to it.
If you’re one of those, your early years went something like this:
- The people in your coloring books all got names and backstories.
- You wrote a whodunit in third grade in which you killed off the assistant principal who gave you detention that time when it wasn’t even your fault.
- Your adolescent angst oozed into poems that relied heavily on rhyming the word “rain” with “pain.”
- When your first romance ended, above the emotional agony, a tiny voice narrated in your head, “‘So this is what a broken heart feels like,’ she thought as she trudged on leaden feet toward her empty room…”
Or maybe you came to it later.
After taking an inspiring class, reading an extraordinary book, or experiencing something that begged to be shared in written form, strange things started to happen:
- Both your roommates went off to a party. You weren’t invited. But you couldn’t have been happier. Time alone to write!
- Your biggest thrill this month came when your blogpost got picked up by The Passive Voice.
- When your friends exchanged funny stories about their kids, you chimed in with an anecdote about what your protagonist did last night.
- Writing took on the urgency of a bodily function.
Other writers are just getting started.
You’ve always loved books and wanted to write, and you’re finally getting concrete ideas for the book you know you’ve got in you. Or you’ve just set up a blog. (Yes, blogging is writing.)
- You pretend you’re looking for jobs online, but instead you’re doing research for a story or interesting things to post about on your blog.
- You’ve just discovered Medium, and you’ve been posting short essays once a week, and you’re starting to get claps…and even though you never thought of yourself as a writer, suddenly writing is the most fulfilling part of your week.
- Even though you haven’t told a soul, you’ve kind of written three chapters and sketched out a couple of scenes that might work into a novel.
- You used to tune out when the old lady next door droned on about her tragic life. Now you eagerly note all the details for use in your screenplay.
- Your most titillating fantasies involve books with your name on the cover in a store window.
But I want to know if I’m a REAL writer—can I make a living at it?
Most writers don’t make a living at it. Not creative writers, anyway. If you want to learn how to make a good living writing, click on the link to the copywriter’s post in the first paragraph.
Only a handful of superstar novelists can quit their day jobs. Of course every one of us hopes to be a superstar someday, and nobody should give up that dream, but there’s no point in going all either/or.
Think of it like this:
- How many people play a musical instrument?
- How many of them are currently booked to play Carnegie Hall?
Should everybody else give up playing music?
Nobody starts at the top. Every star was a clueless beginner once. Learning takes time. We have to spend years—maybe decades—taking classes, studying how-to books and blogs, joining critique groups, and learning the ins and outs of the publishing business—the way a musician practices daily or a golfer works to perfect a swing.
It’s a process. A really long process. But meanwhile, you’re writing stuff, which means you’re a writer.
Before you give in to the I’m-not-really-a-writer blues, remember:
- If your queries are coming back with form/silent rejections, you’re a writer.
- When your WIP is refusing to come to a satisfactory end and you kind of hate your protagonist right now, you’re a writer.
- If your neglected spouse suggests you take up something more lucrative and less time consuming than that blog, like making a model of the Taj Mahal out of toothpicks…that means you’re a writer.
- When you’re questioning your worthiness to call yourself a writer—welcome to the club.
So don’t give up because you don’t have an agent yet, or your mother-in-law calls you a slacker who “sits around on your butt all day,” or your mechanic keeps asking why you don’t have the money to replace that clunker when you just launched your third book on Amazon.
No matter what stage you’ve achieved in your writing, there’s always part of you that has a little case of “imposter syndrome“…that feeling that you’re only faking this professional writer stuff. (That links to a great post from Nathan Bransford on the syndrome.)
This is all part of being a real writer. Which is what you are.
So go write.
by Anne R. Allen @annerallen October 8, 2017
What about you, scriveners? Are you afraid to tell people you’re a writer? If not, when did you start calling yourself that? I’d love to hear personal stories about when you had that “aha” moment and said “I’m a writer!”
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Thanks for this post & this perfect analogy: “How many people play a musical instrument? How many of them are currently booked to play Carnegie Hall?” Enough said.
CS–We’re all keeping our eyes on the prize, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of rewards along the way. It’s all about the writing. Creating stuff out of words is a pretty amazing way to spend our time.
*you get rejected. All the time. You’re a writer.
*you get one-star reviews. Every day. You’re a writer.
*you hate what you’re writing. You’re a writer.
*you LOVE what you’re writing. Genius! You’re a writer.
*you don’t know what you’re doing—and you’re on Chapter Five, Draft #7. You’re a writer.
And so it goes…;-)
Ruth–That’s it exactly!! Chapter 5, Draft 7–that’s about where I am right now with my new book. Haha.
Hey Anne,
I don’t know when it happened exactly – but at some point in the last 3-4 years I was able to call myself a writer without feeling embarrassed.
On the other hand I still go through serious body shakes when I think about promoting my stuff. I see these other writers, some friends, some just people I see around the neighborhood – promoting their stuff and I’m in awe. I think they must be really great writers because the total certainty and verve with which they promote speaks to that. However, on many occasions I’ve found myself really disappointed in the work of these authors. So I start to think maybe really it is all about having the ego (or balls) to just promote it, come hell or high water.
I read a post from Dean Wesley Smith today about how beta readers have ruined writers’ work and there is a kind of same dullness in much of the books out now. In some ways I agree with him about that – if you use your betas as though their word is gospel I can see how it could turn your work into a big vanilla yawn fest. And he insists that writers should just do their own thing, not consult anyone, keep their voice pure and so on. Which I think goes to the other extreme – but then he’s a best seller and has a bagillion books/stories and people know who he is – and nobody knows who I am – so maybe he’s got a point.
Anyway…I think I’m getting off point.
I think writers maybe should just think more about writing than whether they can call themselves writers – I mean comon – really? If you dedicate any part of your life to writing then you’re a writer. Like you said, it has little to do with celebrity and everything to do with activity.
Annie
Annie–“It has little to do with celebrity and everything to do with activity.” Well put!
I just finished reading that DWS post about beta readers! I may do a whole blogpost about it. He’s probably right if you’re a pro who’s been writing for 10+ years. But for beginners, that’s nonsense. No beginner knows automatically how to write. It’s like playing guitar without taking any guitar lessons. People are not going to pay to hear you play.
And as for the promotion-happy mediocre writers. Remember the Dunning-Kruger Effect: the most confident people are usually the least competent. 🙂
Okay that last para made me laugh out loud. True enough I guess.
Yeah that whole beta readers give him pain is a bit much. Although maybe what he’s really saying is that people are using betas incorrectly. I dunno. Maybe I’m just lucky and have really great betas but I’ve never had any of them tell me what to do. Of course I don’t ask for that kind of feedback. So maybe it’s like any other tool – it’s all in how you use it.
I’d love to see the post you spin out of that one.
Cheers,
Annie
Here’s what I tell my students: You are a writer right now. Definitely call yourself a writer if you are currently writing a novel. The word ‘author’ is usually described as someone who is published.
But here’s what I really want to comment on:
How many people play a musical instrument?
How many of them are currently booked to play Carnegie Hall?
Should everybody else give up playing music?
This is brilliant, Anne! I’ll be quoting you once more 🙂
Melodie–I’m glad to be able to help you in reaching beginning writers. They have so many obstacles to deal with–especially the wealth of misinformation they get on what writing is really about.
Anne, I also will quote that great analogy in my blog this week.
As a former English teacher I’ve always known that people that write are writers. My question has always been: Am I an author?
Yes! If you’re writing anything, you are a writer.
There are thousands of guitarists in the world better than me. I still play. And in a band. That’s all right and I’m still a guitarist.
Alex–Exactly! If only the top people in any art form were allowed to consider themselves artists, we’d have a lot less art. And where would new artists come from?
Yes of course, all this all the time, Anne. This kind of encouragement I mean, you know there are thousands of us who need it.
And take any excuse you need to KEEP calling yourself a writer:
– You haven’t written in three weeks but you never thinking about what the hero is going to do next. = Writer
– No written words during the day but you fall asleep with the plot on your mind. A twist occurs just before sleep, because the writing gods are cruel. In the morning you remember what you had thought of just before dreaming. Because, = Writer
– You take the wrong turn on the way to the store, because guess what was on your mind? = Writer
Will–Important point! Just because you’re not writing at this very moment doesn’t mean you’re not a writer. “Write every day” isn’t possible for most of us. (And even most wildly successful authors don’t write every day.)
All your points are so true. But also. “A twist occurs just before sleep, because the writing gods are cruel. In the morning you DON’T remember what you had thought of just before dreaming,” Sometimes the gods are even crueler. Sigh.
Will, I need those words today! Stuck on a minor plot point that has mushroomed into paralysis. Yet, I’m still a writer 🙂
Evy–A writer is a person who writes. An author is a writer who has a published book. A journalist is a writer who gathers and publishes news. A copywriter is a writer who composes advertising copy. A poet writes poems. A screenwriter writes screenplays. They’re all writers.
An artist creates art. Who says if that art has value? The critics? the gallery owners? The buyers? Marcel DuChamp?
Getting judgemental is a slippery slope–one that I realize fuels a lot of Art School discussions.
But we can see it as a continuum. Maybe people should call themselves “Beginning” artists or writers or poets when they’re getting started. But I don’t think it’s useful to invalidate beginners on some arbitrary scale of judgement.
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. Please just delete my comments.
Let’s see….I’ve been blogging in one form or another since 2007, which I originally started due to censored-my-writing issues in a chat forum. Blogging became a way to practice my writing. My current blog is called “I Are Writer!”. I have published books here and there (mostly self-pubbed). I have people who ask me about once or twice a week “how goes the writing?”
Yeah, I’m a writer, and darn proud of that fact.
Oh and one more thing, when i landed my first (and only publisher), I put the following quote in my acknowledgment section:
“Finally, to all the naysayers who said I couldn’t string more than two words together without screwing up: I managed to string more than two words together without screwing up.”
G. B. I’m glad you weighed in. I think “I Are Writer!” is a hilarious title.That quote is funny too. And you know what? Even if you had screwed up, you’d still be a writer. 🙂
I really needed this, Anne. As for my ‘aha’ moment…maybe a few minutes ago, when I finished your post. I tend to hem and haw with a caveat, along the lines of “I’m a writer…” and I almost say “but…”
I am in a longish slump, and I don’t know why. But I’m still a writer. Thanks!
Tricia–I’m glad this post helped! I’ve been seeing a lot of discouragement in the writing community lately. I think it may be because indie publishing has saturated the market and made it harder for any writer, indie or trad-pubbed, to find an audience. This makes agents and publishers even pickier and less open to new writers and new ideas. But somebody has to make it, even in this market, so why shouldn’t it be you?
Good one, Anne.
And you didn’t even get to the debate that arises after the “am I a writer” question.
Am I an author? (laughs)
Does blogging count?
Newspapers?
Magazines?
Online magazines?
etc etc…
Label debates can go on and on as there are so many forms of writers and authors. Not to mention the public expectations.
It’s amusing people still have the thing about people with a book out in this self-publishing age. It certainly is an accomplishment but it gives credibility in odd ways. People I know who don’t read my on-line writing want to buy a copy of my book, for example. Of course theres that stat that a major % never get past the first chapter of a book…
David–The possibilities for debate are endless. When I was freelancing there was a big debate about whether features article writers could be called “journalists.” And then there’s the question: are you a “poet” if you’re unpublished?
You’re right that self-publishing had diluted the “author” moniker. Used to be pretty straightforward. Book author, newspaper journalist, features writer, But now “book author” is anybody who has uploaded a 5000 word story to Amazon, and some of the most influential writers in the world write for blogs, so….I guess I don’t know. .
But a plumber is a plumber even if he’s a bad one. I think it’s best to stick with the basics and leave the quality judgments out of the labeling.. 🙂
Anne, a very encouraging post. A few years ago as I was moaning about why was I writing when nobody was ever, ever going to read my books, a close friend (and now my intellectual property rights attorney) scolded me and said I needed to look in the mirror every day and shout that I was a mystery author. In short, I needed to own it. She was right, too. If I wanted anyone else to take me seriously, I had to do the same.
That being said, I’m 5 years into this fiction gig and still leery about going to writer conferences and handing out my buisness cards. People can say unintentionally cutting things (“Have you written anything I’ve read?” “I thought you were joking.” “I don’t read anything with sex, murder, or printed words in it.”) and like many others, I’m still practicing my unselfconscious writer elevator speech.
Carmen–I think we all went through that stage. Especially before self-publishing. That’s when I wrote my post for Nathan Bransford about how we’re all writing for aliens on Tralfamadore, who read directly from our hard drive, and that’s why we feel compelled to keep writing. They love us on Tralfamadore and want more!
People can be clueless about the publishing industry, so we have to expect the clueless stuff, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I just say “I write mysteries” and give them my card. If they say they don’t like mysteries, I ask them what they do like. People always like to talk about themselves, and what they’ll remember is they liked you and they have your card. Maybe they’ll give it a second look. Probably not, but maybe 🙂
Thanks, Anne, for another thoughtful post…
I’ve never thought about ‘real’ writers or being one. I simply write. I even remember the first time inspiration struck. I was 7. My dog, Snugs, had been hit by an ambulance and killed. My dad tried to explain what might have happened, and how the ambulance was hurrying to help someone. My anger was stupendous and I suddenly felt the urgent need to make a declaration of my feelings — by writing something. So, I did…
The resulting tirade was called: Why kill a dog to save a person? I forced my family to sit in the living room while I read (shouted) my missive. From then on, writing was my preferred venue of expressing my feelings, opinions, outrageous theories, and speculations on the world. In grade school, this evolved into projecting all that internal outrage and ‘wisdom’ into characters, foreign worlds, and alternative concepts.
I think a person either writes — or they don’t. That is the only reality, or realness, about writing. Doubt seems to come when validation is needed or wished for, and I just don’t need that. If I don’t express myself well through writing, then I’m suddenly *not* a writer, I’ve just not communicated my thoughts so that many others can absorb them.
Also, from being the kid who was ready to march on, well, someone somewhere for killing my dog, I’ve found that writing keeps me from screaming at people who are clearly idiots. :o))) Including that woman I see in the mirror…
Thanks again for the reassurances to all — love the Imposter Syndrome, that applies to all sorts of things we try to do, eh?
Maria D’Marco
Maria–What a savvy little person you were, to get your feelings out in writing when you went through a tragedy like that. You’re one of the first bunch of writers I talked about–the ones who were writers pretty much since birth. I was too. I used to regularly kill off people who were mean to me in my mystery stories when I was a kid. I also lived an alternate life as a cat burglar in stories when I was 9 and 10. Too funny. I don’t think I showed them to anybody. But as you say, they kept me from screaming.
Love it! Cat burglar! :o) yeah, my muse seems to have always been on my shoulder. I kept notepads and then little recorders by the bed, as I would wake with all kinds of ideas and ‘messages’ – learned to keep that to myself, of course.
Remember a neighbor whispering none to quietly to my mom: “Are you certain she isn’t, well, odd?”
And I never cared if someone thought a story bad or good, but was very interested if they said it made them cry, or think of something, or was too scary… :o)
maria
Thank god, it’s not just me!
I’m still working on telling people I’m a writer, because I feel like the connotation of “I’m a writer living in NYC” conjures up a very different image from my reality (which is gobbling down lunch at my 9am-6pm regular job so I can get 45 minutes of writing in during lunch hour). But thank you for the validation!
Irvin–Haha “I’m a writer living in NYC” does indeed bring up a particular image. For me the image involves beards and smoky jazz bars and boozy midnight conversations in 1950s Greenwich Village. I guess everybody has a different fantasy of what a “writer” is, but I say if you write, you’re a writer. Enjoy those lunch time writing sessions!
While I understand where you are trying to go with this, and I even agree with most of it, it still comes off too easy, I think, because it tends to allow lowering the bar for who is a writer.
We don’t call a mother a nurse because she puts band aids on her kids cuts and scrapes, nor do we call her a surgeon when she removes a splinter from a child’s hand or foot. Yet we want to allow a person who can make a letter on a piece of paper with a pencil a “real writer.” We have lowered the bar on what constitutes a writer so low that everyone now can step over it and call themselves writers. Honestly, the bar is so low I do not wish to be called a writer and I refuse to lay claim to the term.
I know a woman who has called herself a writer for over seven years and she has never writen more than three complete pages and she has never finished a work in all that time. Yet she says she is a writer. Her explaination is that she is a writer because she wants to be one and it is the desire to write that makes her a writer and not actually having produced something. By her logic I’m a millionare because I want to be one.
In truth I am an author, story teller, and a poet with nine novels and one poetry book in publication as well as a few magazine articles here and there, and while I certainly had to ‘write’ to put the words together for these books and articles to be published, I am not a writer, nor do I want to be one considering the stigma it carries today.
David–What an odd point of view. You don’t want to be called a writer because there are bad writers? Do you think Yo Yo Ma should stop calling himself a cellist because there are bad cellists? Should we not call Renee Fleming a singer because Florence Foster Jenkins was a bad singer? Is Jack Nicklaus not a golfer because of all those Saturday morning duffers? I’m afraid I don’t get it.
“Writer” is not a statement of quality. It is a statement of fact. I used to work as a theater costume designer. I was a terrible costume designer. But that doesn’t mean we should stop calling Edith Head a costume designer. That’s silly.
This is a great post, Anne. For some reason I don’t feel comfortable calling myself an author. I’ve segued from “I’m a writer ” which means I could be writing anything, to “I write books” which seems more appropriate. When I’ve called myself an author, it seems too boastful – like I’m clumping myself together with Jodi Picoult or Stephen King or someone.. Do I need a shrink?
Patricia–I must say I find “author” a little pretentious in introductions. I prefer to say “I write mysteries.” But if somebody picks up one of my books and asks, “Are you the author?” I certainly reply in the affirmative.
You don’t need a shrink, but you probably need to avoid judgemental small-minded snobs. There are some people who never feel like successes unless they can see somebody else fail. Now those are the people who really are boastful and narcissistic.
Cheryl–It sounds ais if Grand Rapids was ahead of its time..You were probably making money than somebody getting a pitiful advance from Harlequin, so you were certainly real writers. Even professional writers. Congrats on still going strong!
I have to dispute the idea that “author” applies only to someone who has published a book. Lee Allen Hill is one of the most gifted authors writing today, but he writes only short stories and has no urge to write a book-length story (or didn’t a while ago).
Fred–Merriam Webster defines an “author” as “a person who has written a book or who writes many books.” Most short story writers collect their work in book form, but these days many people are thinking outside the book, so it may be time to change the definition.
Fred–Here’s a better answer. The dictionary definitions all involve something that has been written–is complete and ready to be read by somebody else. It can be a book or a story or a poison pen letter–but the important aspect is that it is a finished product. A writer is involved with process. The author has completed that process.
Anne, thank you for the attention, and that second definition. Much better!
Thank you for this, Anne–very much appreciated!
Thanks, Leanne!
I very much appreciate this discussion as a new “writer” who is the author of her own story ;-). I struggled with this idea about what to call myself from the moment my creative writing muse got my attention – “author” seemed to be giving myself more credit than I deserve. I have no desire to come off pretentious (no published book, yet) but “author” does seem to fit for me sometimes, depending on the conversation or situation. How to be a Writer in the E-Age is awesome and has provided me with so much good info I was searching for as a new writer! It’s always handy for frequent referencing! Thank you!
Bonnie–If you go by the dictionary definition, an “author” is somebody who has written something that is complete and, generally is out in the marketplace ready to be read by the general public.
A writer is somebody who writes. “Writer” defines the process and “author” defines the result. If you have books out there getting read and reviewed, whether you’ve submitted to agents or you’ve self published, you can call yourself an author. Otherwise, you can still use the term “writer” and wear it proudly.
I’m so glad you found How to be a Writer in the E-Age useful. That’s what Catherine and I hoped when we wrote it!
For years, I wouldn’t tell anyone I was a writer because I just didn’t feel like one. Now, I say it nervously, but I say it!
Libby–Good for you! And you’ll see that others agree. Jane Friedman has a post on this subject this morning. http://bit.ly/2yTIALt
I needed this, after getting a wholly critical review from an agent at a Writer’s Conference and another rejection the next day.
“Here’s the basic truth: if you go off by yourself at regular intervals to create stuff using words, you’re a writer.” My favorite line from the blog. I have been doing just that my entire life. And yet, I feel like a fraud calling myself a writer, even though i have had publishing success. We can be so hard on ourselves. Thanks for the uplift!
Christine–People who “critique” with 100% negativity are not critiquing, they are attacking. That’s not useful to anybody. Of course you’re a writer! You’re an author, too. If you’ve published something, you’re the author of that something.
Thanks for this thought-provoking post.
It took me years to think of myself as a real writer because I only wrote articles, essays, and short stories. I had never published a book–and still haven’t. Now I’m proud to call myself a writer. I have a blog, have published essays and short stories, and won writing competitions. And I’m optimistic that there’s a book in my future.;
Donna–Isn’t it weird that so many people don’t think of nonfiction writers as “real writers?” Articles and essays are just as much “writing” as book length fiction. And yes, blogging is writing. If you have a blog, you’re a writer! When you write and publish that book, you’ll be a book author too. But if you’re writing, you’re a writer.
Another super post, Anne. Kudos to you!
Frances–Thanks! I’m glad you could stop by. 🙂
I guess I’m a bit different. I don’t consider myself a writer, I call myself a story teller. That means I don’t panic over ‘if I can write’. Everyone can tell a story. Stories have existed since the beginning of mankind.
Bronwen–“Storyteller” is a great thing to be. It takes a specialized talent to be a good storyteller. I disagree that everyone can tell a story. Lots of writers can’t. That’s why there are developmental editors. 🙂
“Here’s the basic truth: if you go off by yourself at regular intervals to create stuff using words, you’re a writer.”
That is my take away from your post, and thanks very much for the affirmation. I stumbled upon your site while researching using past vs present tense in novels (I still don’t know which is best for this book!), and I’m glad I did. Thanks for the encouragement, and you now have a new reader. 🙂
RE–Welcome! And in answer to your past/present tense question: past is always safer. Present tense works in cases when you want a breathless, “OMG it’s happening right now!” tone, which means it’s more popular with YA.
I wrote a rom-com mystery in present tense and ended up rewriting the whole thing in past tense. All the rejections mentioned the present tense as a problem, and when I finally did find a publisher, my editor had me rewrite in past tense. With a first or second book, it’s always smart to play it safe.
‘Before you give in to the I’m-not-really-a-writer blues,’ – I feel another poem rhyming ‘pain’ with ‘rain’ coming on :).
Another self doubt a lot of writers have is that of trying ‘to become a better writer’, not realising that simply by wanting and striving to be better, makes them a better writer already.
Tom–You make a great point. The writer who will never succeed is the one who thinks he knows it all already and every word he writes is pure gold. These are the people who make self-publishing a dirty word in some circles.
Thanks Anne I found this extremely reassuring. I have just e-published my first novel The Hartnetts on Amazon and I have been writing for 25 years. One thing I find with writing is that if you constantly feel as though you are setting yourself a higher bar to hit then you can only get better. The first piece advice I would give anyone wanting to write myself is write something that you would choose to read yourself, read as widely as possible and allocate a certain time of day to write, if unable to come up with an idea in that time read instead, but don’t force an idea even if you end up making something up as you go along.
I hope that I haven’t gone on too long.
Tom
P.S. Feel free to download my book
Tom–“If you’re unable to come up with an idea, read instead” is great advice! Ruth Harris has given us some great tips on how to store up an “idea bank” as we read. http://bit.ly/2x8X2Pc.
For me it was when the Editor of Anvil’s Ring magazine, Sebastian Publishing at the time, told me that I had developed the questions, edited the answers and put them together for maximum effect. If I had not, there would be no article. She told me, “You are the author of the article.” I asked her about it because someone else had accused me of having the artist do all the work and then me taking all the credit. I could see this point, but at the same time, I had many more hours invested than the artist did making them look and sound good with their answers to my questions. I knew I was a writer then. I am using those experiences now as I have become a full time storyteller.
Vince–I know other freelancers who have run into this question: Who’s the author of an interview–the interviewer or the interviewee? But the answer is always the interviewer–the person who shapes the story, edits it and is the final “buck-stops-here” arbitrator of what goes into it. The interviewer is also the one who gets paid. 🙂
So kind of you to invite comments, while so many subscribers already do. Still, I am intrigued – yes, I call myself a writer – and will tell you that I first felt confidence enough to call myself that, when my first short story got accepted in an on line magazine. I have been a writer for six years now, and as you so aptly define: my work was rejected.
My stories and the queries for my two novels have been rejected numerous times, so I self published out of desperation (two novels) and started a blog. I sent my third novel recently to a number of publishers, so I’ll be waiting and patiently grooming my self confidence until the rejections roll in…..
Keep up the good work and thanks.
BabyBoomer–Rejections come with the territory, that’s for sure. Getting that first acceptance can be a turning point. I’m glad it gave you the confidence to see yourself as a writer.