Why Persistence Means More than Talent

I know quite a few people who can write well, but aren’t writers. They have the skill to write, but they lack the persistence to make it a career. Writing is a skill that most people have to some extent or another. There are plenty of people who don’t care about writing at all that can still do it well. They had good teachers in school and the learned what they were taught. That doesn’t mean they want to do anything with writing specifically.

It takes more than desire

The more problematic set of people are the ones who want to be writers, but don’t write. They like to read books and think about writing one. They like to watch movies and think about being a screenwriter. They have the desire, but they do nothing with it. Even if they do write that novel or screenplay, they don’t really see it through to completion. They don’t edit it until it is perfect. They don’t write a second one to build up their skill. They have enough willpower in them for one work, but not enough to make writing a career.

Easy isn’t always good

Willpower and persistence matter more than talent in most fields, and especially in writing. In fact, having a natural skill can sometimes be a hindrance. When a skill comes to a person naturally, that person often has less desire to improve. When I was in elementary school I was a math wiz. I could add, subtract, multiply and divide in my head easily and always got the best grades. When it came time to take algebra though, math suddenly became hard for me. At that point, I needed to try much harder, but I was used to not having to make an effort. I got average grades and moved on to other things. I wasn’t looking for a challenge. I just wanted to be good at it.

Sooner or later it gets tough for everyone

The same is true of people who are great at the basics of writing. A person with perfect grammar and an excellent vocabulary can write well, at first. It gets hard for them though, when they actually have to put 70,000 words together into a novel that makes sense and engages the reader. It gets hard when they have to write a heartfelt poem. It gets hard when they have to write a direct-mail advertisement that brings in customers. It gets hard when they have to write a one-hundred page guide to using a piece of software. People who have had to work at their writing though, and know they need to improve, are more likely to be up to one of those challenges. They know going in that it is going to be hard.

Writing is only the first hard step

To embrace writing as a career you need to be persistent. The pay isn’t always great and the work isn’t always interesting. Writing 70,000 words is hard. Editing 70,000 words is excruciating. Having somebody tear apart those 70,000 words and tell you it is not good enough is devastating. The career in writing belongs to the person who gets up the next day and gets back to work, either improving what they have or creating something new.

Building a writing career

If you want a career as a writer, you need to push yourself. You need to write when there are a dozen distractions, both pleasant and unpleasant. You need to see projects through to completion. You need to bounce back from criticism and even learn from it. You need to care about writing enough to stick with it through a hundred bad times, or you need to let it go. There is no shame in writing strictly as a hobby. There is no reason you can’t write for fun. There are easier and even more rewarding careers out there. If you want writing to be your career though, be prepared to push through the difficult parts and see where your path takes you.

Dealing with your Inner Observer

I have a voice in my head.

Don’t worry. I’m sane. I took a FaceBook quiz that told me so. The voice in my head is me. It isn’t the logical part of me although it sometimes pretends to be. It is more of the observer of me. It looks at what I’m doing, or what I want to do, and it judges it. The voice is both a positive and a negative thing. It is a troublemaker, but deep down it wants what is right for me, even when it is wrong about what that is.

For example, when I was working for my last employer, the voice told me I didn’t want to be there. It insisted in fact. Every day, it told me that I was wasting my time, spinning my wheels, slowly dying in a fate I did not choose. Clearly this voice is overly dramatic, but it had a point. There were things I liked about my job, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do.

Nonetheless, I resisted the voice. In fact, in my final months at that job, I made my strongest possible effort to make things work out. I replaced my polo shirts with button ups and a tie — even a suit jacket. This may not mean much in some places, but in the 110 degree summers of Arizona, it means a lot. I decorated my cubicle with motivational posters. I pushed myself to be more organized and more on task. I tried not to say anything negative, even in the face of major cutbacks at work. I monitored my “Rightsteps” and made sure I was exceeding every goal my boss had set for me.

It didn’t matter. I was fired anyway.

The voice in my head was relieved, but now it had a whole new set of things to obsess over. It second-guessed every move I made after I got fired. No matter what I was doing, it told me I was doing it wrong or that I should be doing something else. My inner voice had a vision of who I should be. It was a wonderful vision of me, totally independent, writing what I wanted and making a great living at it without any real struggles. It was a vision a great life, and it was keeping me from being happy.

Eventually, I had to deal with that voice. I had to listen to what it wanted and acknowledge that I wasn’t moving toward what my true hopes and dreams were. On the flip side, I had to make that inner critic understand that it was getting in my way as much as it was helping me find my way. You can’t be critical of everything, or else you won’t accomplish everything.

Finding a balance was no easy task. For me it was all about lists. I made lists of what I wanted and what I needed. I wrote down all of the things that I wanted to accomplish and all of the things that were holding me back. I made choices about the things I wanted, realizing that some of my dreams would have to be set aside for another time. Eventually, I came up with a plan that I can work with, but one I will keep track of. My inner voice is still there, but it has stopped shouting about my wrong choices for now. I know that if I get too far off track though, it will get louder again.

The Changing World for Writers

It is difficult to pick just one career for your whole life. It is difficult because not only do your own tastes and desires change, but the world changes too. In the 1960s and 1970s, reporters used typewriters. The fax machine was startling new technology. In the eighties, reporters typed their articles on computers, and had access to a few elite online tools such as Nexus, but they mostly worked in the same ways that they had before. In the 1990s, newspapers and the Internet began to merge, but no one knew what model they would take. Newspapers tried to be the same, and it cost them. In the 2000s, people began to bypass newspapers and print media altogether. It became possible to strike out on your own and gain a genuine following online.

Print media is in trouble

Now, as we enter a new decade, print media is in genuine trouble. Newspapers have long been in decline and magazines are following, sunk not only by the speed of online information, but by the rising costs of mail delivery. Book publishing is also making rapid changes. Bestsellers are still bestsellers, but for the first time, online books are starting to make real headway. The iPad and the Kindle are now solid sources for books. This has made self-publishing and small press publishing more viable than they have been in years. When you can search for what you want online, the press to get on shelves at stores is lessened somewhat. It becomes more important to be the book that people search for, rather than the book that publishers promote.

You are not as ready as you think

If you are on the cusp of the technological wave, don’t pat yourself on the back just yet. Sure, blogs are more popular, but a livable income as a blogger is still a challenge. The same goes for podcasting and social media. You hear about the people who make money at it, but you hear about them because they are the exception rather than the rule. People are more immune to advertising than ever before, and if they aren’t buying something, you aren’t going to make much money.

There is no roadmap

Change is in motion, and accelerating. The financial landscape of publishing and media in general is in the midst of a major transition, and there is no definitive idea of where it will end up. This makes picking a career, especially in the writing field, a tricky matter. We currently live in a crowded publishing world. Anyone who wants to publish can. That brings great freedom, but it pushes the level of competition through the roof. When media was controlled by a few gatekeepers, the goal was to get past the gate. Now, the big gatekeepers are still there, and can still offer a measure of success, but your true competition is the crowd. When everyone can be heard, it becomes increasingly difficult to stand out. When someone else is offering what you have for free, it is very hard to charge.

Fortune favors the adaptable

My point is that if you want to have a career as a writer, be prepared for change. Be prepared for an entire world of competition, but also a world of possible readers. Understand that the way you make money writing today may soon change and that you will have to adapt to that change. We see this most in the freelance world, but don’t be surprised if corporate writing world follows. No one is immune to change.

How to subsidize your freelance writing career with a (shudder) JOB

Most writers, even successful novelists, have jobs. They are teachers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, advertising executives, auto mechanics and grocery store clerks. Some are technical writers, copywriters, editors and proofreaders. It is certainly possible to freelance full-time, but many writers collect paychecks along with their invoices. This is especially true in the worlds of poetry and fiction, where payments are often small and spaced far between.

How do you want to spend your energy?

There is only so much time in the day, and that means you have to be careful about the jobs you take. You don’t want a job that is going to make it impossible for you to write outside of work. That is why some people take jobs far from the writing field. Some jobs only require presence and a little attention. Working as a security guard, for example, allows you to spend most of your time standing around watching people. For some writers, this is a great opportunity to observe, and get paid to do it. It isn’t difficult work, and it won’t leave you intellectually drained at the end of the day.

Working as a technical writer or as an editor gives you a chance to improve your writing skills as you earn a paycheck (and a bigger paycheck than a security guard). The downside is that you may use up all of your intellectual energy reading documents and attending meetings. A construction job is an example of a third option, one that works your body more than your mind, and gets you out into the daylight instead of stranding you in an office building. It is up to you to decide what works best for you, but if at the end of the day you don’t feel like writing, that’s a clue that you made the wrong choice.

Part-time solutions

Part-time work is yet another option. You draw a somewhat smaller paycheck, but you get back more of your time. Working two days a week at a store in the mall probably won’t pay all of your bills, but it may be enough to get you by in the weeks between freelance payments. It will also remind you of why you want to work hard as a freelancer, so that you don’t have to hold a job like that anymore.

Temporary solutions

Another option beyond part-time work is temporary work. You work full-time or even overtime hours for several months, banking your paychecks so that you can then have money in reserve to support your time freelancing for the next few months. The benefit of this, beyond the money, is the additional motivation to do well. You won’t have to get a regular job again until you run out of money. That gives you extra incentive to work hard and get paid as a freelance writer so that you don’t have to go back to a regular job. The danger is that you won’t know when to quit. Months can quickly turn into years, especially if you don’t save your money well.

The important thing to remember is that you do have choices as a freelance writer. When the freelance market gets slow, a job will provide you with another source of income and security. Just remember that your primary goal is to make a living from your freelance writing.

The Realities of a Freelance Writing Career

Leaving the comforts of a regular job for a freelance writing career means adjusting to a much different world. You will no longer be able to count on regular paychecks and company subsidized benefits. You won’t get paid sick days or overtime. You are on your own.

Your life and your career start to meld

As a freelance writer, there is no moment when you are suddenly at work or off work, especially if you work out of your home. There is nobody to tell you when you are done working for the day, and if you sleep in and miss a couple of hours in the morning, there is no one standing over you telling you to get to work or to keep working into the evening to make up for it. This leads to a perpetual feeling that you really should be doing something other than what you are actually doing, whether you are working or relaxing.

Your are responsible for your own goals

In a job you may have been able to blame your boss or the company for your lack of career advancement or your low pay. As a freelance writer, your career is entirely your responsibility. You make the decisions and you live with the consequences. Instead of negotiating with one boss, you have to negotiate with multiple clients and each one may have their quirks or issues. Some may even be hoping to rip you off. That is the reality of the business. It isn’t as safe as a regular paycheck and it isn’t for people who are afraid to make decisions.

You create your own network

As a freelance writer, you don’t get to meet coworkers in the lunch room or gossip over cubicle walls. If you want allies and friends, you have to forge the connections and keep them active. It can be lonely sitting in a home office all day with only the cat for company. A feeling of isolation is common. Social tools such as Facebook and Twitter can help you feel connected, but there is no replacement for face-to-face contact.

Life becomes deductible

As a writer, you have to manage your own taxes. That means paying the government out of your own account once a quarter to cover both income tax and social security (in the USA). It also means that anything in your life that legitimately helps you write becomes a deductible expense. Some of the typical deductible expenses are books, classes, Internet access, phone, office supplies, business cards, and computer equipment. Depending on what you write about though, other things become deductible. Someone who writes about exercise might deduct their shoes and gym membership. Someone who writes about travel might deduct their vacation expenses. This is why it is important to track all of your expenses and make sure you can justify any deduction you take. It may be smart to consult a tax accountant.

Your income relies on your output

If you get nothing done all day at a regular job, you still get a paycheck. Some people manage to survive in corporate America for years without accomplishing anything. As a freelance writer you don’t have that luxury. If you don’t do the work to land new clients and produce new writing, you don’t make money. Everyone has an off day once in a while, but if your off days start to stack up it can seriously endanger your financial stability. This is especially hard for freelance writers because people respect your time less than they do if you work a regular job. The friend or relative who would never call you at work won’t hesitate to call you at home. If you give in to these distractions, you have no one to blame but yourself. You are your boss.

Think about these realities before you jump into a freelance writing career. Full-time freelance writing is not for everyone.

Writers Should be Learners

Some freelance writers can write about the same subject forever. Others need to change gears every once in a while. It can be difficult taking on a new subject though, especially one that you haven’t studied or practiced in the past. The beauty of tackling a new writing topic is that it gives you a fresh challenge. Getting back on the learning curve keeps the mind fresh and helps you develop new skills.

Be an ardent learner

It is always easier to learn about subjects you are ardent about. If you hope to make a long-term living writing about a topic, it should really be one you look forward to learning about and writing about. It is a mistake to invest tremendous time and effort into learning about a subject that doesn’t interest you.

Move from the basic to the complex

When you do find the right topic to write about, you are going to need to get familiar with the basic concepts and practices, as well as learn about the latest trends. You are also going to need to get actively involved with that topic. Reading about something only gets you so far. In order to master a new subject, you need to put learning into action. You need to get involved with other people who care about the topic and are willing to share knowledge. In many cases these people can become sources for your future articles and books.

Create a learning library

Invest in the core literature you need to succeed. Find web sites about the topic, especially news sites and blogs by writers who share the same passions. These people can be the key to your future success and serve as great contacts and interview subjects. Go to the library and look for scientific or trade magazines about the topic you are researching. Subscribe to these magazines and consider contributing to them. Use the magazines to find out who the major players are. Keep track of the people who are writing for these magazines and see if you can track them down online or on the phone. Tap these people for relevant knowledge.

Go back to school

Another good idea is to take classes in the subject. Introductory classes at your local community college are an inexpensive way to make a formal effort to learn what you need to know. Once you have the basics down, get active. Learn the skills involved in the subject. Join online groups or local clubs. Find people who are interested and want to spend time sharing their knowledge.

Keep a learning journal

As you go through all of this, be sure to keep a learning journal. Write down as much as you can about what you learn. These notes will be the basis of your future articles, blog entries, scripts and books. Never stop writing, even long before you are ready to publish. Be an active and involved learner. It will serve you for years to come.

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