2nd Inquiry Research Round #3 — Giulia Bianchi

How can you become an author and what does it take to become one?

Seems I’ve been jumping all over the place from my original plan, but the comments had some logical ideas which I actually wanted to expand upon. Furthermore, I’ll look back at my second question, but more so the advice given from said writers. (I appreciate the links given by the way-) I’ll mostly just try and tie up some loose ends with this final post.

Advice From Writers Themselves:

Looking through a couple of links, I mainly read some short explanations involving those of staying motivated, and how writers stay on top of their works. Most of the advice I saw was linking to setting time aside, and let me tell you. I very much agreed with that. People have their daily tasks to play out, along with their other hobbies of interest, which will sometimes leave little time to write. Now this may decrease when you’re older, depending on the occupation/lifestyle, but as of now it’s certainly true. To be completely honest, you have to quite literally discipline yourself, sit down, grab your pencil/laptop, and write. Right then and now. I’ve been there, done that. If you don’t even type a single word on the document, it’ll never get done. Which is why I agree with the following quotes:

Jodi Picoult: “You can’t edit a blank page.”

You cannot edit something that does not exist, but you can edit something in which you’ve already started.

E.B. White: “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

Despite it being hard to find the motivation, or the right time and space, you have to just write through it. All the ideas will stay in your head, but never meet the paper.

Following up with these quotes, some other ones mentioned they like writing in the mornings, since that’s when their days are toned down and temporarily inactive. I’m a currenty a student, so that’s not really possible for me, but I can see what they’re getting at. (1) https://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers

From another website, I also read that it’s not that bad of an idea to try and get recogniton. Whether it be through online postings, feedback from friends/family, or searching for an editor/reader. It’s good to have some form of outside view looking at your work, because it’s difficult to proofread your own writing. It’ll make sense to you, but may not so much to the readers. Back to the online presence for a moment, most content recognition involves some form of online community building writing wise. There’s many websites for writers to post their content, or they could even set up one of their own.

The Likelyhood of Becoming an Author:

This is an extremely important part that needs to be discussed, because you’re competing with a bunch of other writers to try and get something published. From what I’ve seen, it’s either a hit or miss, but you can’t do anything if you don’t even try in the first place. However, if you even want a chance at becoming a published author, they say you need to study and practice it like a craft. What would be the point of trial and error, if you can avoid it all together? Even if you want to dive right into writing a full length novel, you’ve got to start small. Practice your writing, observe the writing of those who’ve made it successful, and don’t quit. You can either self-publish or get a company to publish for you, but that part gets a bit complicated to describe. To put it simply, you need to find the right company, and not just one that will skim over your work. A literary agent would also be reccomended, if possible.

If you wanted to take a self-published route, that is also possible, but the standards are obviously different. You’d need your own title, cover and you’d have to self edit as well. (Unless you got a relative to do so, but that’s not reccomended unless they studied the same literary skills as you, meaning not just plain English, but creative writing, etc.) (3) https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-become-an-author/ (4) https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-real-odds-of-becoming-a-successful-writer-Also-in-that-regard-how-does-publishing-a-book-and-publishing-houses-themselves-work

Sources:

1. https://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers
2. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-surefire-ways-become-successful-writer.html
3. https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-become-an-author/
4. https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-real-odds-of-becoming-a-successful-writer-Also-in-that-regard-how-does-publishing-a-book-and-publishing-houses-themselves-work