Today was a stroll. I took a walk down Nairn Beach, had a coffee and chocolate cake in a café where I read a magazine that had just published a poem of mine, came back home, wrote for a couple of hours, made a meal and relaxed watching a 3D film on my giant flatscreen TV with surround sound. Doesn't sound too taxing does it? So how do you get there? Watch this space. September 26th 2015 So How Do You Manage It? I'm retired, which helps. A solution for younger writers, I have been told is to find a sugar daddy or mummy. I can't give any suggestions for doing that. It sounds great but probably has downsides.
However, there are realistic ways to gain success at a reasonable age without compromising independence. Of course, you need talent and resolution. And there's no quick fix. But there definitely are ways of doing it. If you don't believe me, advice is available elsewhere. Try reading Shelf Help - The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing by Ben Galley. Ben has taught in the Guardian series of Masterclasses. He doesn't pay me for this recommendation. He doesn't even know I'm making it. I'm just giving advice. I have done an M Litt in Creative Writing at St Andrews University and have been published so in my blog I intend to concentrate on writing skills and writing prompts. But I will pass on knowledge I have gleaned about marketing and making money too. And getting published itself? The traditional route to this is: find an agent, who auctions it off between publishers if it's really good, or, somehow, manages to persuade one publisher. It's a pity it doesn't always work with all those other writers trying to do it that way. But it's the first avenue ambitious writers explore. There's also self publishing which used to be very difficult because distribution channels are set up for publishers not individual authors. But these days with modern technology it is possible. We've all heard of Kindle. As a route to being a successful self-published writer, it works. But you do have to learn how to write: and the best time to learn to write is now. It's better to be young because you're less likely to succeed if you wait till you've retired and then decide you want to be a writer. You need to build up the skills over a period of years. When a writer has their first novel published, sorry, but it isn't the first they've written. It's typically their third. The other two didn't get anywhere. The way to write is to write. First one word then another and then when you've got 75000 words you've got the length of a novel. Or seventeen syllables makes a haiku poem. Write something. You won't succeed if all you do is talk about it. - but if you just spend two to three hours a day on it, you will get there. Watch for my next blog - How to Write - a First Step. |
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