Welcome to Inspiration Fridays! In this series, I meditate on a quote from the current featured book. Today I’m talking about this quote from Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer:
“A writer today is competing against thousands more would-be writers than even a couple of decades ago. Still, committed writers succeed in the industry every single day, especially those who can adopt a long-term view and recognize that most careers are launched, not with a single fabulous manuscript, but through a series of small successes that build the writer’s network and visibility, step by step.”
How long does it take a writer to go from complete beginner to published success, especially in this tough market? For everyone, the process and timeline look different. Like Natalie Goldberg says, there is no clearly defined path. But one thing is the same in every writer’s story: consistent, persistent steps taken over many years.
In The Business of Being a Writer, Friedman shares that she spent eighteen months blogging consistently before she gained much traction. If you’re writing books, you have to think even longer-term than that. Most book authors with successful publications under their belts have backstories of many iterations of effort and failure over the course of many years.
But our society isn’t great at seeing those early days of effort and failure. It doesn’t often reward those first stumbling attempts. When we look at a successful writer, all we tend to notice is their success, their talent. We often fall into the trap of assuming they were somehow always that successful and talented. But do a little digging and you’ll realize this assumption is anything but true.
So settle in, buckle up. There’s no such thing as overnight success when it comes to writing. Build your networks with care and intention: attend writing conferences, try out critique groups, enter writing contests, be a beta reader, talk to editors, pitch to agents, workshop your query letters, figure out blogging or social media. Each connection you make is a thread that can form a vital part of the network that will get you where you want to be someday.
Watch for more meditations on Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer, and happy writing!
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