by Anne R. Allen
I’m often approached by parents or grandparents of children who’ve shown a talent for writing. They ask how a child can learn to be a writer. Or sometimes a person going through a mid-life job change will ask my advice about going back to college to pursue a long-deferred writing dream.
I have to tell them the truth: learning to write is hard — and earning money from writing is way harder.
I’m not saying certain types of writing can’t be immediately lucrative — “content providers” can find careers in advertising and various tech fields — but that’s usually not what the doting grand/parents or career-changers are thinking. They might be imagining plays or screenplays, or even journalism — a fast-fading profession too — but mostly they’re thinking memoir and novels.
But writing book-length narrative is one of the toughest ways to earn a living — and it’s getting tougher all the time. The average book advance from a traditional publisher is less than half of what it was twenty years ago. And even though some self-publishers make a good living, almost all writers need day jobs.
How Much Does it Cost to Learn to be a Writer?
The question arises: how much money should people put into educating themselves to be writers?
There are lots of places that offer college-level creative writing degrees. Do those give students a jumpstart or prepare them for a writing career?
Unfortunately, they usually don’t. They’re often based on very old ideas of how the publishing industry works.
If you have the privilege of attending college, by all means take courses in creative writing. Also take courses in advanced string theory or Athenian red-figure vase painting — whatever interests you. None of your time learning will be wasted, and a college education is massively helpful to any career.
But also study business, or something that will prepare you for a day job. You’ll need it.
Don’t go to college expecting to be taught how to be a professional writer who can enter the workforce and earn back the cost of college like somebody studying accounting or medicine. It won’t happen.
I’m not saying degrees in creative writing will hurt, but they’re not necessary for a writing career. And they’re usually expensive.
Thing is: the number one thing that’s NOT necessary to any creative career is…DEBT. Debt is a prison that can keep you locked into a job you hate, living in noisy, crowded circumstances, and plagued with anxieties that are the enemy of creativity.
An MFA Will Steer You Toward Academia and Literary Writing
“But, wait!” says Aspiring Young Writer, “What about an MFA? That gives you a leg up into the publishing business, doesn’t it?”
Um, not really.
Not with most agents and publishers (although a prestigious school can provide valuable contacts.) What an MFA will do is steer you in the direction of literary writing, which tends to be less lucrative for a publisher (and you.)
An MFA DOES qualify you to teach creative writing at the college level, and as a day job, college teaching is a pretty good one. But be aware of the implied trade-off.
Also be aware that, like art school, writing programs can become dangerously cultish. I’d heard about this for years and then I recently read the bestselling novel, Bunny, by Mona Awad. It satirizes, with “a viciously funny bloodbath” how bizarre those “programs for the overeducated” can be. I would never have survived one.
Think of getting an MFA like studying ballet or learning to play classical music — you’re entering a fiercely competitive field with a niche audience and not much remuneration…but a lot of prestige. For those who love it, there’s also a fulfillment that can come no other way. If writing and teaching literary fiction is your bliss — follow it! The world needs you to carry on that tradition.
How to Learn to be a Writer of Popular Fiction
But if your goal is writing popular fiction — take a more eclectic route in your training. (And prepare to work a day job.)
Of course you first need to learn the basics just like a literary writer: grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and word usage. If you didn’t get that in high school or college, you need to take some brush-up classes.
Language is your instrument, and you need to learn to play that instrument before you can get in a band.
Don’t count on a hired editor to clean up your stuff after you write it. Editors cost a bundle and they can’t do it all. Good language skills are essential. You wouldn’t try to be a carpenter if you couldn’t pound a nail.
But once you have that down, what do you do?
You still have to do a lot to learn to be a writer. Straight-A grammar skills don’t help you with learning how to tell a story. You need to educate yourself on story structure, how to create compelling characters, pacing and all the rest.
There are Many Ways to Learn to be a Writer.
The best approach is to study widely. And in the Internet Age, that’s easy. There is no one right way. Here are some things to try:
- Enroll in classes at your local adult ed. or community college extension programs.
- Take online courses, especially ones that concentrate on structure and story-telling techniques. If you can afford a course with a well-known writer, take it. Their name will hold weight in a query and you may be lucky enough to have them mentor you.
- Read! Read in your genre, read the classic writing books, and read contemporary writing guides too. (Like, ahem, How to be a Writer in the E-Age. FREE for 4 days!)
- Go to writers’ conferences, especially local ones where you don’t have to pay for room and board. Writers’ conferences are the best way to make contacts with professional writers, agents and editors, as well as other writers on their way up.
- Join professional writing organizations If you live in a place where there’s a local writer’s club or chapter of organizations like RWA, SCBWI, or Sisters in Crime, join. Clubs like those can be amazingly valuable resources.
- Join a critique group. A good critique group can sometimes teach you as much as a college class about how to write. (But critique groups are only as good as their members. See my post on Dangerous Critiques: Beware Bad Writing Advice)
- Read professional writing blogs like this one. A whole lot of what you need to learn to be a writer is available on the Internet for free. Agent blogs are a valuable resource here. Editor and former agent Nathan Bransford, and agent Janet Reid and her Query Shark blog offer mini-courses in publishing. Former head of Writers’ Digest Books, Jane Friedman, has one of the most informative blogs around. Becca and Angela at Writers Helping Writers offer fantastic information, and KM Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors is great, too. And be sure to subscribe to Victoria Strauss’s Writer Beware so you don’t get scammed.
It’s Always Worthwhile to Follow Your Bliss
Writing may not often be a lucrative profession, but creating worlds out of words is still one of the most exciting ways to spend your time, so I tell those parents and grandparents and mid-life career-changers that nobody should be discouraged from following their dreams.
But I also warn them not get talked into expensive college courses they can’t afford. (And people should especially beware writing degrees from for-profit colleges. Recruiters can tell a lot of half- and un-truths and provide a slick, easy path to a lifetime of debt.)
The electronic age may bring more responsibilities to writers — social media and online marketing can seem like a huge time-suck — but it also opens up hundreds of new paths to our goals, many of them inexpensive or free. So I say embrace the journey and accept the abundance of information at your fingertips.
And Malcolm Gladwell’s dictum that you need to do something 10,000 hours in order to learn to do it well is a valuable one to keep in mind. The corny old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall applies: practice, practice, practice.
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What about you, scriveners? Do people ask you how to learn to be a writer? What do you tell them? How did you learn/or are learning your craft — and how are you educating yourself in the business of writing for a living. I’d love for you to give some tips and suggestions for things that worked (or didn’t work) for you.
By Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) July 16, 2023
BOOK OF THE WEEK
July 16 (Sunday) through Wednesday, the 19th
HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE: A SELF-HELP GUIDE
co-authored with NYT multi-million-copy seller
Friendly, down-to earth advice about how to navigate the treacherous waters of today’s publishing world. You’ll see a lot of books out there about how to write, and a whole lot more that promise Kindle millions. But this book is different. It helps you establish a professional writing career in this time of rapid change—and answers the questions so many writers are asking. There’s lots of advice on how to deal with criticism and learning what to use and what to ignore.
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Featured Image: Ivan Gorochov Writing Boy. 1900.
Practice, practice, practice indeed. What better way to wallow in the wonder of words?
Thanks for another fine post.
CS–And what is more satisfying than wallowing in the wonder of words? (Great phrase!)
Anne—Thanks for an excellent, practical about how to become a writer. Here’s another route, the one I traveled. When I was just starting out, I wrote articles for what were inelegantly but accurately called “stroke books.” Their offices were on the same floor where I worked and I was friendly with the editor. We had morning coffee often, I asked about writing for his magazines. Because, #1 #2 and #3, editorial salaries sucked & I needed the money (Manhattan is $$$$). Even tho we’re talking about girlie magazines (who reads the articles?), I had to write an proposal, submit, get an OK or a turn-down from the editor. Ended up writing regularly and for several years spent Sunday morning writing articles (that no one read). However, I learned to write to deadline, how to create a selling proposal, craft a grabby title…all turning out to be invaluable & necessary. I don’t know if that market still exists now that those so inclined can get all the porn they could even dream of on the internet, but writing articles no one read for girlie magazines taught me almost everything about being a professional writer.
PS: That editor was Lawrence Sanders who went on to be NYT bestselling author of crime/mystery novels. *I* went on to write NYT bestsellers mostly in a category known as “women’s fiction.”
Ruth–What a great story. And Lawrence Sanders was your editor! I have no idea if those magazines still exist, with all the smutty stuff available on the Internet. Now that kind of writing would probably be “content providing” on those websites. Writing for the Internet, providing content for blogs and websites also is a great way to learn to write contemporary prose.
Terrific, level-headed advice here as usual! One thing I’d suggest to add- whichever path you’re taking, be aware of the story that’s happening all around people. Folks are doing amazing things– being foolishly hypocritical, getting angry, wasting their time– and you’re one of those folks. Unless you already know the story you want to tell, you’re going to have to find it. Classes, networking, online, these are all excellent places to find it.
Beats staring at that blank page.
Will–Great advice! “Where do you get your ideas?” They are all around us all the time. Too many stories to tell in a lifetime.
If you’re not good at grammar, that can be learned, but no degree is going to teach you how to write a great story. And yeah, day job, people. Day job.
Alex–Exactly! Go to school to learn grammar, but the rest has to come from our own imagination, empathy, and observation skills. Lots of stories to find in your day job. I used to work for a court reporting firm, proofreading the court transcripts. Soooo many stories in those docs.
I always appreciate the candor in your posts regarding the worrying aspects of business life of writing. I always share your blog posts with my students in hopes they might see beyond their rosy-colored glasses and be prepared.
I’m not convinced of the prestige of teaching at an MFA: the pay is way too low, offering no benefits, and at my school, the acceptance rate is 92%. Not every student is prepared to do graduate level work. I’ve always enjoyed taking a deep dive into a story’s architecture, so an MFA was good for me. For this reason, too, I always thought teaching would be fun. But lately, I’ve had to navigate waaay too many writer wannabees and other literary cooties. I’m not convinced they’d put 10,000 hours into anything, much less practice. Unless it’s to write a revenge review. I’m learning sometimes the better teacher is reality.
Bobbi–Thanks so much for giving us news from the trenches. I had no idea that teaching in an MFA program has low pay. I had heard of the cooties. 🙂 Reality is a good teacher, too.
A good article, Anne, although I think that READ should have been first on your list. I am convinced that writing is to a large degree an unconscious process that we learn by – reading. The other things can hone our ability to write, but if we have not absorbed how language and written stories work by a lot of reading, there will be nothing there to hone. Strictly my own opinion, of course, but it one that I am strongly convinced of. 🤷♀️
JR–I always assume that people want to write because they love to read, but you’re so right–if they don’t, they need to catch up. Big time. Read, read, read. I didn’t mean these to be in any sort of order, except the way they came into my head. 🙂
Another great column! I read something recently by another author, that made me think: “How presumptuous, to engage in make-believe, and expect others to admire you for it.” It reminded me that the only practical reason to write is because you want to, because you love it. To write for any other reason (like to be admired) is a recipe for disappointment.
Melodie–People who write to fulfill some narcissistic fantasy, but don’t love reading in the first place are such a waste of time. Theirs and ours.
Ruth, I got my start in professional writing (beyond a few short story sells) by writing those letters for the same type of magazines! Yes, they are written by authors. After that I got a column with the local newspaper, where they appreciated the ‘deadline’ experience I had. Wow – the old days. We took what we could get.
Great post, Anne–as usual!
You are such a valuable resource to all writers, beginning or otherwise.
I purchased “How to be a Writer in the E-Age” when you and Catherine first published it back in 2012 and it has been my go-to source ever since for learning about myriad aspects of being a writer. Go get a copy everyone!
Debbie–Oh, that warms the cockles o’ me heart! 🙂 I’m so glad to know our book has been a good resource for you.
Hi Debbie, and thank you for this recommendation! I’ll check into it right away! Bobbi
Great advice! What about hiring a writing book coach that seems so popular right now? As a means of learning.
Tonya–Book coaches can be wonderful, but they are pricey. Basically a “coach” is a one-on-one writing teacher. If you’re wealthy and want a crash course in writing, they can help, but you’ll have a hard time making that money back with your first couple of books.
** writing or book coach. Not writing book coach, lol!
Tonya– 🙂
For learning about the business side, I highly recommend the blog that Kristine Rusch puts out. It’s good for anyone who wants to learn the ins and outs of the financial side of writing, IP’s and other assorted juicy nuggets, no matter if they’re doing the trad or indie way.
Now, onto tiny little me: I actually learned my writing craft through trial and error, and working an office job helped a lot. I started blogging over 15 years ago for the precise reason of practicing my writing skills, and the blog itself attracted a few fine fiction writers who I managed to pick up some great writing tips/advice from.
My advice would only be to add to the aforementioned tips in the post, is to pick another writer’s brain for tips and just casual conversation. If you come across one at a local fair and the like, strike up a casual conversation with them. You will be amazed at what you can learn from simply talking and listening. I did that very recently at a local fair and learned quite a few things about other genres (like MG) that I did not know about.
GB–Yes! Other writers can be a gold mine. I should have put “networking” on the list. One way to do that is with writers blogs, and KKR is one of the best. Jane Friedman has lots of good business advice, too.
Do a lot of people in middle age decide they want to be a writer? Is it possible them to become a good writer if they haven’t written much before? I’m in my late 30s and I want to pursue writing fiction. I used to write tons of short stories as a kid, but life happened. Anytime I think of telling anyone I stop because I think- if I had any potential towards writing everyone would know already. I’d already be established. I often feel like a fool for my desire, like the opportunity has passed me by.
Felicity–Lots of writers don’t start until middle age, and you’re not even there yet. 🙂 I didn’t start writing for publication until I was in my 40s. I was in the theater, and I wrote plays, a few of which got produced, but novels are different, and I pretty much had to start from scratch at age 42 or so.
Hi Anne, I’m with Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve been writing since college. Am I getting better? Yes. Sometimes we fall in love with our work and are disheartened when someone rejects it. Writing is PERSONAL, but it is also PROFESSIONAL. You have to have both, creativity, desire and the ability to take rejection. It’s a package deal, Beth
Elizabeth–You’ve put it very well. We have to integrate the personal with the professional. A package deal. And develop rhino hide.
Thoughtful piece, Anne. Helpful, too, regardless of where on this life-long-learning path we’re on. Totally agree in reading and practice as core skillsets. To quote Stephen King in “On Writing” – If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the tools to write. Happy Sunday to you and to Ruth!
Garry–Stephen King had the answers to a lot of things. That’s why I always recommend his book “On Writing”. And yes, it’s a life-long learning path.
Terrific post offering some great suggestions. Writer’s Conferences (on the cheap), reading in your genre, joining professional writing organizations, etc. I’m taking them all to heart. I particularly enjoyed Ruth Harris’s comment/story. And just when I had her figured out. 😉
Seriously, many thanks for this post. BTW, you’re making it crystal clear about the reality of A DAY JOB for our fellow authors put me at ease. I was under the impression that these writers were being sustained by their book earnings. I have so much to learn!
Kenneth–Of course there are a handful of superstars who are making big bux with their writing, but they should not be our role models. Dumb luck, the alignment of the stars and “who you know” often have a lot to do with the star-making process. But even lots of big literary names, like John Updike, had day jobs in academia.
Anne, I always appreciate how you don’t sugar-coat realities but face them head on and tell it like it is.
Additional advice for young writers–get out and live some life. Broaden your education into all kinds of fields beyond English and creative writing. A BA in literature never helped me get a job, unless they gave extra points for spelling and grammar!
Working in retail taught me more about human behavior than college psych classes. Working in business helped me recognize cons and scams. Working as a legal secretary taught me the system ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Real world experience makes writing more authentic and believable.
Debbie–I agree 100% about real world experience (outside of academia) It’s the only way to write authentic fiction.
Melodie—we should call it basic training for writers cuz that’s what it is. 🙂
This has been an excellent, exploring many great ideas from everyone! Thank you!
Bobbi–Thanks for stopping by!
Another super post, Anne.
Ruth, I read all those articles and stories back in the 70s & 80’s. Not worth the money to just look at the pictures.
I tried writing for close to a decade and received nothing but rejections. I had a BA in English. I knew how to write. I just didn’t know how to write for publication. I enrolled in Long Ridge Writers Group (since renamed Institute for Writers). Their method was to team a student with a successful published author. I was fortunate to draw the late Mary Rosenblum as my instructor. Only a few months after completing the course, I sold my first story. The most important lesson Mary taught me was editing and rewriting. Later, I submitted a literary story to The StoryTeller Magazine. The editor then, Regina Williams, edited the story from about 2800 to 2450, and showed me how. I still use that lesson today.
Fred–Finding a great class or being lucky enough to find a mentor is probably the best way to learn to write. Congrats on connecting with the people who could teach you what you needed to know.
Anne, is it not true that Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote) didn’t begin his literary career until he was 68? 😀
Ken–I had to look it up, but yes–he was 68 when Don Quixote was published. He had written poems and plays before that, and he’d published one book, La Galatea, a kind of romance, before his success with Don Quixote, but it was all when he was later in life. He had quite an adventurous time of it in his youth, as a military commander and battleship’s captain. He also spent 5 years in captivity in Algiers, then joined the Franciscan order. Then he thought inventing the novel would be a good idea. 🙂
Great article, Anne – as always. I went into this writing thing not for the money but because I love reading books. I, too, believe that I’ve learned a lot about “how to write” by reading novels I loved. Years and years of such reading really has helped me create my own novels. And just living and watching and being helps as well.
Patricia–The only problem with using reading as your main teacher is that a lot of us read more classics than contemporary bestsellers. So you can end up writing a great imitation of a style that worked in the 1920s, but is too wordy for now. That’s where the agent blogs, writers conferences and current how to books can help.
It is a reasonable assumption, Anne, but I have actually run into a few who said that they do not like to read. Totally inexplicable to me. 🤷♀️
JR–I was with one in a critique group once. She simply couldn’t write a readable sentence, so I asked her what books she was reading, hoping she could find some good examples. She said, “Oh, I hate to read.” I left the group soon after. 🙁
Thank you Anne. So glad I know you now. You tickle me!
Dianna–Thanks! 🙂
Fred—Thank you! So at least I had ONE reader? Proves you (a writer) gotta start somewhere. I appreciate you! 🙂
All these years later I still remember the first girlie mag article I wrote: “How I Tell The Studs From The Duds,” the title supplied by the editor. LOL
That is sound advice. I’ve been a writing instructor of adults for many years and am now a writing coach after leaving academia. The cost of hiring a professional is something to consider, of course, but think ahead if you’re writing a novel or nonfiction book because you will likely want to hire what’s called a line editor, at least, to make sure you have an error-free book with excellent punctuation and grammar before you publish. The fees vary and you can go online and find some organizations that will show you the average costs (ranging usually from $2-$6 or so per page). You can also hire a writing coach if you’re at a loss with how to do fictional plot points and character development and such things that are necessary for holding a story together well and making it satisfying. This kind of service of hiring a coach (and I’m NOT looking for clients right now) can be compared to anything you do yourself versus hiring an expert to help you. Do you paint your own house yourself, or do you want an expert doing it? At the very least, do save your pennies and please plan to hire a line editor to make sure you present a professional finished product to the public if you’re indie publishing or to an agent or editor if going that route.
Christine–Thanks for a comment from a professional! I do think working with a writing coach is a wonderful way to learn to write–like having a private tutor instead of taking classes. And yes, every writer needs an editor. Not necessarily to submit to agents, but certainly for self-publishers. It’s a must!
I think this is the best article I’ve read on this topic ever – thorough, true, solid information that means work but nothing scary to fear. It’s a gift to forward to people when they ask me the question!
Lola–Thanks so much! I appreciate the encouraging words. Yes, learning to write takes a lot more work than money. 🙂
Anne–Excellent advice! I took one advanced education course at the local university that focused on story structure. Definitely worth the time because it taught me the basic form of how to craft a story. Though the teacher used an outdated structure, the basics haven’t changed all that much, just the names. Before that course, I didn’t even know stories had structure!
Instead of dishing out $$ for a college degree, try this: After you’ve studied and practiced the advice from writing blogs and craft books, hire an experienced writing coach to assess your first attempt(s) at crafting a novel. You’ll get a lot more bang for your buck.
Sue–Yes! That’s the kind of course that can really take your writing to a professional level. I agree that you’ll learn probably more from a personal writing coach than those expensive MFA programs.
Do you think going through one book with a coach is a long enough time to learn?
Felicity–I don’t think there’s a mathematical calculation that will tell all people how long it will take them to learn to be a professional writer. Everybody brings a different level of expertise to the table in the first place. And some people learn faster than others. Generally, a first book ends up being a “practice novel”. Most pros have at least one in their files. Generally the book that finally gets published is our third or fourth, and we may not start earning money until our sixth or seventh. Getting shorter works published first is the way most writers go, without jumping into book-length fiction or narrative first thing. I don’t know if people hire coaches for short fiction, but I suppose it could work. But the length of time it will take to learn professional writing skills will vary from writer to writer.
Thank you, Anne. At the moment, I haven’t written a full length novel. I’ve written a bunch of short stories and have a couple novella drafts. My problem is not knowing how to revise them. I picked one and am making an attempt at rewriting it. I have a long way to go with learning to write
Felicity–It sounds like you are at the beginning of your writing journey, and every one of us has been there. One way to get free writing advice is a critique group. You can find them online at Scribophile, Critique Circle.com, Critters, and many more. Or check your local library for an in-person group. You can also look into your local adult ed. or continuing ed. classes. Most school systems offer them. Since you have stories finished, you have pieces ready to start with a critique group. Just keep in mind what I say about critique groups (Lots more on this from both Catherine and me in our book–free until tomorrow.) Some people have hidden agendas so not all critiques are helpful. I also recommend Nathan Bransford’s book How to Write a Novel. He offers lots of info about revisions. But it sounds as if maybe what you need right now is reassurance that you’re on the right path, and you can get that from a critique group.
I downloaded it, thank you!
Felicity– 🙂
Thanks Anne, great advice and very timely as I ponder (after writing two novels) whether to invest in a course and improve my skills. Glad to hear that an MFA is not the golden ticket as that is out of reach for so many!
Tamsin–A good short course can often take your writing to the next level. Online courses can be affordable, but of course you want to choose carefully. Local “continuing education” or “adult education” courses from a local university can be excellent and affordable, too. But letters after your name won’t impress any agents or readers.
Och, anyone can write. My cat sometimes writes as she wanders across my keyboard pushing her head against my chin. You can’t read what she comes up with but many cats and many keyboards… The complete works of Shakespeare. Etc.
Plus, she is a little cleaner and daintier than monkeys, rarely masturbates. Anyone can write. Me, Cats, Frogs (it is more difficult for frogs, webbed feet and keyboards don’t go. It annoys the frogs, often hitting caps lock or a letter and the surrounding keys. About time they made a frog sensitive keyboard. Maybe they have and I just dont know about it yet.
I think all you need to become a writer is to read, often, regularly, constantly, as often as you can, as you have time for. Ignore the rest. Sorry Anne, read loads, write loads, you will get hold of it.
Ray–And anybody can play golf. But it helps if you find somebody to teach you how to swing that club thing so it actually hits the ball and makes it go where you want. And learning to write all depends on whether you’re writing for your own amusement (nothing wrong with that) or for other people to read.
Put arse in chair and write.
Harry–That won’t do you one bit of good unless you’ve read widely in your genre and have the analytic mind to figure out how the good writers structure their stories so readers can follow them. Just typing out drivel for years won’t teach you to write if you don’t read. Like maybe you might read a blogpost before you comment on it. 🙂