People sometimes ask, "What are the most difficult things about being a writer?"

My first thought is usually, Where do I begin? The list of challenges is long but if I had to choose the most important ones, they would be these...

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Defining Success

What does success mean to you? This one is very important because that word, success, means something different to everyone. Take the time to clearly define where you want to be in a year, in five years, ten years, and beyond. Unfocused wishes and dreams without an actionable plan is the surest path to failure.

Staying Humble

Come to terms, early in your career, that you will never stop learning and honing your skills. As you begin getting published and receiving some accolades it’s easy to think you know it all and you’ve learned all there is to know. Fall into this ego-trap and it will be the beginning of the end of your career. Stay humble, there's a difference between confidence and being egotistical. The former is a strength, the latter a great weakness.

Carving Out Quiet Time

This can be as difficult as juggling chainsaws while wearing woolen mittens. Since it’s such a challenge to make a living at writing you must find an alternative means to pay the bills until you’ve established yourself. Having to work the equivalent of 1.5 (or more) jobs forces you to efficiently utilize every single moment of your day if you wish to get anything done. A mobile device (smartphone or tablet) helps tremendously by allowing you to record important ideas the moment they strike during short spans of quiet throughout your day. This indispensable tool also gives you the freedom to interact with your social media accounts on the run.

Have a designated area, ideally with walls and a door, to write that assures you peace and quiet. It seems like the moment you turn on your computer and the writing really begins to flow you instantly become the center of attention of everyone (including pets) within a five mile radius.

People who aren’t creative don’t understand the creative process, they just don’t. It’s your job to educate and continuously remind them about the importance of your quiet time. Make it your goal to find your own time for peace and quiet so you can do your work.

Promoting Your Work

For the first few years of its existence social media was the missing piece of the puzzle that made indie publishing work. At last indie authors were able to get their work in front of enormous amounts of people for little to no cost. Those days are pretty much over. Although social media can still be an effective way to promote, if used correctly, it’s not as easy to grow the size of your readership as it once was.

Don’t fall into the trap of relying on any one social media outlet to grow your business. You have no control how these platforms will change in the future. Invest in the security of your future and build your own mailing list using a service, like Mail Chimp. Once subscribers sign up they get your messages delivered directly into their email box. A subscriber list is still the best way to scale your network of readers at little-to-no cost.

Establishing A Reputation

The market is flooded with indie authors and you must be able to get yourself noticed amongst millions of voices. You accomplish this in three ways: 1. Write what you know; 2. communicate to your audience regularly; and 3. value your readers.

No one sees the world exactly the same way you do. Capitalize on this. Don’t spend years trying to write like other famous authors, develop your own voice based on your own unique life experiences. You’ll find your true fans and your niche in the process.

Above all else you must always do right by your readers by consistently exceeding their expectations when it comes to content. Write regularly. Work hard to give your audience quality content, something of value that makes them laugh or makes them think. In time you will build a loyal fan base. Be generous in any way you can and those acts of generosity will come back to you tenfold. Karma is a boomerang.

Generating Sales

To make a living at this you must sell books and the only way to sell a lot of books requires you to grow your network of readers. At first concentrate on offering lots of free quality content on a consistent basis through blog, videos, and social media posts. This is an investment in your future as a writer because you’re building a fanbase and practicing your skills every day.

Remember to offer the reader something that will truly engage and benefit them in some way. Write in a voice that makes your audience feel like you’re speaking to them personally. This forges an important bond that will earn enough trust that people are willing to spend their hard earned money on your work.

Also, you must become a promotional idea generating machine, constantly coming up with new ways to sell your work. I keep an idea log in the Notes app on my iPhone and try to come up with a few new ideas every day. Don’t be afraid to test your ideas in the real world. If an idea works, simply take note and repeat it. If an idea flops, tweak it slightly or try something altogether different.

Be Selective and Protective of Your Time

If you work very hard (and have a fair amount of luck) the day will come when the crowd you once so diligently chased will begin chasing you. Once you gain a following as an author people will flock to you. They’ll want you to read their writing and offer feedback, they will seek you out for access to your network of industry connections, they’ll want you to partner with them on their projects.

Although this can be very flattering, remember to be selective, it’s okay to politely say no. I am more than willing to help people if my schedule allows for it but I’m also very protective of my time. Being a writer takes a lot of time and there are innumerable things that distract you from your work. Learn to be selective about where you place your focus and be protective of your time.

Fall In Love

Being a writer is damned difficult but it’s also the best job on the planet. For this dream of yours to be realized it’s imperative that you be madly in love that act of writing itself. You must make up your mind that you will write even if you don’t receive a dime for it. From day one of your writing career there’s great wealth to be gained but it’s not just the financial variety.

The immense feeling of content that comes with writing a really good piece of work has sustained me through my darkest days. Connecting with and receiving feedback from my readers has lifted me to new heights even when times are good. This kind of contentment is a currency that holds its value even during the worst of economic downturns and will leave you with a life of memories that is rich beyond measure.

Thank you for reading,

Eric

(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com.)

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*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.

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