As a published writer and familiar name on one of the Internet’s largest writing sites, Wattpad, I have enjoyed writing since I was five-years-old. I haven’t seriously considered it as a career as, to me, it’s a way to perform and tell a story without people have to see my face or hear my voice. I enjoy it because I’m good at it and it’s a way to make impossible things come true. However, I have dabbled in the self-publishing world back in 2012, where I published my first story A Novelist. There wasn’t a successful following due to lack of promotion and that the story was still accessible for no charge on Wattpad. But as of today, I am now revisiting the idea and sharing the following about what is involved with becoming an author.
Strong reading skills. This is the best advice I have received from my parents. I have come across this suggestion before when googling writing advice from time to time and have discovered it to be true. If you are a strong reader, your writing will reflect the type of material you read. A college degree is preferred if you are writing subjects other than creative (LLC). However, you don’t have to have an English degree to be a fantastic author. I don’t have an English degree but unlike fanfiction or writer typing from their mobiles, I am conscious of my grammar and sentence structure and aim to present my content as professional as possible.
If an author is going through the self-publishing route, they are relying on their own marketing and networking. The author is also responsible for their own editing and designing, relying on maybe a few outside sources to help produce the “perfect” manuscript (Scribendi). Traditional publishing, however, is producing a cover letter and manuscript for a publishing house and letting the editor decide whether the content will sell. If not, the manuscript is rejected and the author will have to do the whole process again with another publishing house. Both routes require money out of the author’s own pocket, but if the author is successful, the annual waging range is between $28,000 and $118,000.
Entry levels can be being a local journalist for a school or college paper, or self-publishing your work online until either you’re discovered or you network with people until you get in touch with those who can guide you to editors or agents. I feel the traditional way is very similar to those in the entertainment business: writing is based on your skill and how capable you are in captivating an audience—it’s a labour that comes directly from you. Therefore, a road to being an accomplished writer is based on your fanbase and those who you get in contact with. I had spoken with an editor a few years ago at a book fair and talked to her briefly on how to get started, she encouraged me by stating I was already in a good spot on Wattpad because editors and publishing houses can instantly read the readers’ comments on my stories and judge on my possible popularity on that.
The skills to writing is an echo of being able to be a strong reader, perceiving things differently, and being able to write a convincing character or place without having to be that person or having to have experienced yourself. Even though many stories are based on personal experiences, I, for one, have written on subjects or places I’ve never been, yet based on the comments on my stories, my readers are thoroughly convinced I’ve been there or experienced such a situation until they personally message me.
An author – like an actor – can be anyone. The beauty about being an author is that you are able to hide behind your words, allowing readers to look beyond the author and into what is being written. Most authors are probably introverts since introverts are those who like to remain to themselves and think thoroughly through their thoughts before thinking. I can’t dismiss personality traits or types because I’m sure writers come in all different shapes and sizes. It’s their ability to wield a pencil or keyboard that determines their success. In the writing world, looks don’t count, but the letters do.
Works Cited
LLC, Truity Psychometrics. Truity. 2016. Web. 12 June 2016.
Scribendi. Scribendi . 2016. Web. 12 June 2016.
Classy Clifton 