Today's writer can't afford the proverbial ivory tower. It's a hard struggle to get published, even with the new phenomenon of self-publishing. And that's a good thing because there're loads of writer resources out there to get the ink flowing.
On Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, Pinterest and other social media, you'll find a host of tips and tricks of the trade. I'm an ardent follower of many such links.
It's not that you'll start rolling in money by merely reading them, or even if you adhere to their instructions.
Even if you're published, there's no point if no one pays a penny for your thoughts.
Besides writing worthwhile content, you've got to get it out there and get it read. And that's not enough these days. Not many copies will sell, piracy or not. This is the depressing truth.
So, should you give up?
No.
All is not lost. Look at it this way: writing is your passion, right? Your passion rarely pays your bills. However, your passion can help fuel a following. A faithful readership of your blog and other output, can be called into action, when the time comes, to buy (rare and difficult to achieve) your books and to prove to sponsors that you've a sizeable following.
Everyone wants to be a someone. Failing which, everyone wants to be seen with someone. If you can manage to work up the confidence, get into the public eye. It's not that difficult if you put some sweat into it. There's always a need for speakers at some event or other-keep a look out for such opportunities. Workshops can work wonders to promote a non-entity to a certain level of stardom-craft one and fill the public need for something or the other. Schools and colleges, libraries and many other organisations often need "fillers". Tweet about your talk or workshop, Face Book it, blog it...
Once you're a somebody, your output is a conversation piece, coveted coffee table décor.
I don't know if I'll ever make it but, with the help of free resources for writers, I'll get cracking, at the very least.
Most of these resources are put together by writers of some contemporary success and a lot of them lay bare their various trials and triumphs.
So, though I write regularly, I'm, as of now, setting myself an agenda.
A good first step is to follow the Ray Bradbury Challenge.
Access resources on my Pinterest Board Writer Rites.
On Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, Pinterest and other social media, you'll find a host of tips and tricks of the trade. I'm an ardent follower of many such links.
It's not that you'll start rolling in money by merely reading them, or even if you adhere to their instructions.
Even if you're published, there's no point if no one pays a penny for your thoughts.
Besides writing worthwhile content, you've got to get it out there and get it read. And that's not enough these days. Not many copies will sell, piracy or not. This is the depressing truth.
So, should you give up?
No.
All is not lost. Look at it this way: writing is your passion, right? Your passion rarely pays your bills. However, your passion can help fuel a following. A faithful readership of your blog and other output, can be called into action, when the time comes, to buy (rare and difficult to achieve) your books and to prove to sponsors that you've a sizeable following.
Everyone wants to be a someone. Failing which, everyone wants to be seen with someone. If you can manage to work up the confidence, get into the public eye. It's not that difficult if you put some sweat into it. There's always a need for speakers at some event or other-keep a look out for such opportunities. Workshops can work wonders to promote a non-entity to a certain level of stardom-craft one and fill the public need for something or the other. Schools and colleges, libraries and many other organisations often need "fillers". Tweet about your talk or workshop, Face Book it, blog it...
Once you're a somebody, your output is a conversation piece, coveted coffee table décor.
I don't know if I'll ever make it but, with the help of free resources for writers, I'll get cracking, at the very least.
Most of these resources are put together by writers of some contemporary success and a lot of them lay bare their various trials and triumphs.
So, though I write regularly, I'm, as of now, setting myself an agenda.
A good first step is to follow the Ray Bradbury Challenge.
The Ray Bradbury Challenge is based on advice Ray gave to writers. Part one is to read one short story, one poem, and one essay every night for 1000 nights. Part two is to write at least one short story every week for a year or more. He said it's impossible to write 52 bad stories in a row. It must therefore also be impossible to write over 140 bad stories in a row!If you'd like to keep up with what I'm reading for this challenge, follow me on writersrites.
Access resources on my Pinterest Board Writer Rites.
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