Detaching yourself from the outcome is fantastic advice! My ideal outcome, as a new author, is to find a few people (besides my wife and mother) who read my writing and enjoy it! Set a realistic expectation is key
Yes! I agree completely. And I'm the same way. I love to write, and I also love when my work adds to someone else's life. There's a real sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in that. Where can I find your writing??
I’m so humbled you want to read it! You’ll be my first ARC reader (besides my close circle). It’s at the editor right now, but I will definitely get back to you with the link once it’s ready!!! Thank you so much!!! 😃
I write because I have stories to tell, not because I want to fill my bank account. It would be nice to make a few bucks, but I'll still write and publish my stories. I've seen too many people who get sucked into staring at the sales reports on Amazon. Instead, they should be proud of the fact that they published. Most people who start writing a book never get past the 20,000-word mark. Just finishing the first draft puts you ahead of most. Tell you story, and let the cards fall where they may. 🙂
I LOVE this and couldn't agree more. Do it because it fills you with joy. You were born to write. Telling stories is one of your gifts. Money is nice, like you said, but writing ANYTHING, let alone a whole book, that's the real accomplishment.
Writing for the love of it makes sense. It's lovely to drop into a character's world and voice, and to experience another life while typing as fast as your fingers can move. Revising and editing, on the other hand, are not really a source of joy, at least for me. They make you a better writer and you learn a lot! But the process feels like work, not play.
I totally know how you feel. Editing is much harder for me. It's harder to get motivated, except I want to finish the damn book. But you're right -- it's good for us. Editing is like exercise...but for writing. :)
Though I agree that not fixating on preconceived expectation can be helpful, having a realistic aim is more valuable than the love of the craft. An acquaintance of mine was imprisoned and tortured in his home country of Vietnam and survived by an immense spiritual maturity and harrowing level of courage. Writing his experience was revisiting a hell no one would want to go through once, let alone multiple times through edits and revisions. His realistic goal was to create a tangible document to provide encouragement, perspective, and depth to anyone struggling in an evil world. That goal trumped the uncomfortable and unsavory aspects of writing in a way that waiting for a love of wordsmithing would never provide. I would say in his case, he had the "fire shut up in his bones" that would not allow him to walk away from writing, which takes the form of fulfillment over enjoyment.
Great video/topic! This is something I often remind myself of: I am doing it because I love it and that's all that counts. Having a love of learning and improvement is something I can relate to as well.
@bymegangrant Thank you. Writing brings me a lot of joy and frustration! But mostly joy. My experience self-publishing has been insane. I published my first book in May on Amazon, and it sold a few copies, which was amazing. But... I was made aware of some glaring formatting problems even after going through proof and author copies and trying to fix them. Not wanting a book that might appear amateur/sloppy, I unpublished it until I can correct the issues. I'm still working on it. Thank you for asking about it :)
How do you know your good enough? Need a confidence boost in your writing? Write a book, or a couple chapters at least. Let it sit for a month or so and then edit it into a new draft. Let it sit for a month and read it again. That is a given and that is what we all should be doing. Now comes the fun and humbling part. Go to a grocery/department store and pick up a few books on the shelves that are designed for mass commercial consumption and read them. And be honest with yourself regarding whether your material is at least on par (not better) than this material. If it is at least on par, you are not wasting your time. This is also a trap in that a lot of these mass published books are either the 'made it' authors like Patterson, King, and Child. Or they are mass written under pseudonyms and are bodice-rippers, murder fo the week, etc. The former is what we are all wanting, but the latter is where you might find yourself landing in time. And that is fine. That means a paycheck. And if the paycheck is used to pay the electric bill then congratulations, you are now a professional writer.
I definitely agree that one must write for the right reasons. Not to become famous or as a a 'get rich quick' method. I can't tell you how many videos I've seen from people saying that writing a book is an easy way to side income. They say it's super easy...but writers know that it takes A LOT of brainpower and dedication. By the way, can you please tell me what genres you write in (i.e. romance, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.)? Thanks in advance and take care!
I couldn't agree more! It's so much harder than people let on. You HAVE to love writing, or it's pointless. I've written humor, mystery, and my latest is... supernatural/fantasy? I'm still trying to figure that out. :p How about you?? Thanks for your comment. :-)
@@bymegangrant Thanks for your reply! I have two projects in progress. One is a memoir and the other is an outline for a movie idea (which is an inspirational drama). I haven't worked on either in a while since I've been dealing with writer's block and I recently just got over a cold. I'm not an authortuber or anything like that though. Appreciate your question and hope you have a great day!
If you absolutely, unequivocally LOVE writing novels, short stories (my favourite, no one talks about them), or poetry (another favourite of mine) then no, absolutely not, you are not wasting your time. Do not write just to be published, or, heaven forbid, to make millions of dollars or pounds. You won't. Write because it is the only thing you can imagine doing.
This is a good question. Excellent idea for a topic. I was a freelance writer Who wrote magazine articles And newspaper pieces my whole career. So i never tried to be an author. I easily became a writer and still remain a writer. I do wonder how people persist trying to write books in the face of failure and rejection.
Yes, I do, but there are more wasteful actions for me to take than writing a book. Also: I am not trying to be an author. I am a writer and I am writing a book that I will publish.
Detaching yourself from the outcome is fantastic advice! My ideal outcome, as a new author, is to find a few people (besides my wife and mother) who read my writing and enjoy it! Set a realistic expectation is key
Yes! I agree completely. And I'm the same way. I love to write, and I also love when my work adds to someone else's life. There's a real sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in that. Where can I find your writing??
Hey Megan - my Scifi book comes out on 5 November 2024. No pressure, but I am looking for ARC readers! 😃
-Tim
@@KramersRemarks I WOULD LOVE TO!
I’m so humbled you want to read it! You’ll be my first ARC reader (besides my close circle). It’s at the editor right now, but I will definitely get back to you with the link once it’s ready!!! Thank you so much!!! 😃
@@KramersRemarks You are welcome! Can't wait. :-) Woohoo!!!
I couldn't not write even if I wanted to!
Omg. I know exactly what you mean. It's like breathing, right?
I write because I have stories to tell, not because I want to fill my bank account. It would be nice to make a few bucks, but I'll still write and publish my stories. I've seen too many people who get sucked into staring at the sales reports on Amazon. Instead, they should be proud of the fact that they published.
Most people who start writing a book never get past the 20,000-word mark. Just finishing the first draft puts you ahead of most.
Tell you story, and let the cards fall where they may. 🙂
I LOVE this and couldn't agree more. Do it because it fills you with joy. You were born to write. Telling stories is one of your gifts. Money is nice, like you said, but writing ANYTHING, let alone a whole book, that's the real accomplishment.
Writing for the love of it makes sense. It's lovely to drop into a character's world and voice, and to experience another life while typing as fast as your fingers can move.
Revising and editing, on the other hand, are not really a source of joy, at least for me. They make you a better writer and you learn a lot! But the process feels like work, not play.
I totally know how you feel. Editing is much harder for me. It's harder to get motivated, except I want to finish the damn book. But you're right -- it's good for us. Editing is like exercise...but for writing. :)
Though I agree that not fixating on preconceived expectation can be helpful, having a realistic aim is more valuable than the love of the craft. An acquaintance of mine was imprisoned and tortured in his home country of Vietnam and survived by an immense spiritual maturity and harrowing level of courage. Writing his experience was revisiting a hell no one would want to go through once, let alone multiple times through edits and revisions. His realistic goal was to create a tangible document to provide encouragement, perspective, and depth to anyone struggling in an evil world. That goal trumped the uncomfortable and unsavory aspects of writing in a way that waiting for a love of wordsmithing would never provide. I would say in his case, he had the "fire shut up in his bones" that would not allow him to walk away from writing, which takes the form of fulfillment over enjoyment.
Thank you. I needed this advice
You got it! Hang in there. Keep writing.
Great video/topic! This is something I often remind myself of: I am doing it because I love it and that's all that counts. Having a love of learning and improvement is something I can relate to as well.
I'm so happy to hear that you prioritize the JOY of writing. When we lose that, things start to get shaky. Keep writing!
@bymegangrant Thank you. Writing brings me a lot of joy and frustration! But mostly joy.
My experience self-publishing has been insane. I published my first book in May on Amazon, and it sold a few copies, which was amazing. But... I was made aware of some glaring formatting problems even after going through proof and author copies and trying to fix them. Not wanting a book that might appear amateur/sloppy, I unpublished it until I can correct the issues. I'm still working on it. Thank you for asking about it :)
@@KatAdVictoriam Oooo the formatting got me too. It took me SO many attempts. Super frustrating. I feel you! It gets easier, but still. Ooof.
I need to figure out how to set this video up on continuous replay. 🙄
Lol I'm here for you!!
You give so much amazing advice! Thank you! ❤
How do you know your good enough? Need a confidence boost in your writing?
Write a book, or a couple chapters at least. Let it sit for a month or so and then edit it into a new draft. Let it sit for a month and read it again. That is a given and that is what we all should be doing. Now comes the fun and humbling part.
Go to a grocery/department store and pick up a few books on the shelves that are designed for mass commercial consumption and read them. And be honest with yourself regarding whether your material is at least on par (not better) than this material. If it is at least on par, you are not wasting your time. This is also a trap in that a lot of these mass published books are either the 'made it' authors like Patterson, King, and Child. Or they are mass written under pseudonyms and are bodice-rippers, murder fo the week, etc. The former is what we are all wanting, but the latter is where you might find yourself landing in time. And that is fine. That means a paycheck. And if the paycheck is used to pay the electric bill then congratulations, you are now a professional writer.
I definitely agree that one must write for the right reasons. Not to become famous or as a a 'get rich quick' method. I can't tell you how many videos I've seen from people saying that writing a book is an easy way to side income. They say it's super easy...but writers know that it takes A LOT of brainpower and dedication.
By the way, can you please tell me what genres you write in (i.e. romance, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.)? Thanks in advance and take care!
I couldn't agree more! It's so much harder than people let on. You HAVE to love writing, or it's pointless.
I've written humor, mystery, and my latest is... supernatural/fantasy? I'm still trying to figure that out. :p How about you??
Thanks for your comment. :-)
@@bymegangrant Thanks for your reply! I have two projects in progress. One is a memoir and the other is an outline for a movie idea (which is an inspirational drama). I haven't worked on either in a while since I've been dealing with writer's block and I recently just got over a cold.
I'm not an authortuber or anything like that though. Appreciate your question and hope you have a great day!
If you absolutely, unequivocally LOVE writing novels, short stories (my favourite, no one talks about them), or poetry (another favourite of mine) then no, absolutely not, you are not wasting your time. Do not write just to be published, or, heaven forbid, to make millions of dollars or pounds. You won't.
Write because it is the only thing you can imagine doing.
Well said!! Do it because you love it.
@@bymegangrant Thank you.
This is a good question.
Excellent idea for a topic.
I was a freelance writer
Who wrote magazine articles
And newspaper pieces my whole career.
So i never tried to be an author.
I easily became a writer and still remain a writer.
I do wonder how people persist trying to write books in the face of failure and rejection.
Oh, definitely.
Yes, I do, but there are more wasteful actions for me to take than writing a book.
Also: I am not trying to be an author. I am a writer and I am writing a book that I will publish.