Life of a Writer: Overnight Success and Becoming a Life-long Writer
What does it take to stick at writing for over a decade?
The weather has finally turned wet here in my little rainforest-filled part of the world after three weeks of sunshine.
Which means more time indoors writing and less time painting the house. (Ugh, renovating a character home is such a big job!)
I’ve LOVED all the interaction this week on Substack.
Your wonderful creative publications are so varied and fantastic to read.
Every morning I sit with my coffee and enjoy a bunch of them.
Talking coffee…
One of you brilliantly suggested the phrase “Because You Write…” could have any number of images associated with it and this week, I think this one fits best.
Because You Write….you drink too much coffee and say things only other writers get.
I know many of you are working hard to get a handle on this platform, so we will talk all things Substack more in the coming weeks.
Feel free to send your Substack questions (and any writing questions) my way. Just hit reply or pop it in the comments.
This week’s I’m starting a series “Life of a Writer” with a writing question from Hannah, one of our BYW family. Thanks Hannah!
“What is your process of publishing and how did you get to where you are?”
First, I’m assuming Hannah considers me successful as a writer, so let’s talk about success.
Success is a funny thing. A lot of writers dream of overnight success.
“If only I could get a viral story!” “If only I could land an agent and a publishing deal!”
You know what? Not me.
I Will Never Wish You Overnight Success
That sounds like a nasty thing to say. Why wouldn’t I want you to be successful?
Of course I want success for you with your writing.
Bathtubs full of money success. Fame and Pulitzer Prize success.
But I want it to come slowly.
I’ve seen several brand new writers find overnight success. Their story blows up. Thousands of views and comments flood their notifications. It’s raining money.
Quit their job.
Change their lives.
Buy a house.
Suddenly “famous”!
Great, right?
But you know what I’ve seen happen next?
The inevitable ‘dip’ happens. Because that’s the writing world.
There are quiet months. Quiet years. Platforms tank. The algorithm changes. Your biggest client moves on.
Overnight success writer? They thought it was going to stay golden forever. Suddenly their notifications echo like an empty barrel in a dry well. They desperately dig deeper. Write faster. Work harder.
Dig until their fingers bleed.
They don’t know that you just need to ride it out, adapt, use your backup stores, wait for the rain. Find a new place to slowly dig your well.
Every single overnight success I’ve ever come across? The ones with talent. The ones who had a lot of potential. The brightest and the best.
No longer writing.
That’s why I want something different for you. I want slow success.
How did you get to where you are?
For those of you who don’t know, I have been a working writer for over 16 years.
I’m mostly a “Magazine writer”.
But the range of my work has been fairly wide.
Ghostwriting for blogs and nonfiction books.
Writing children’s fiction for English language learners.
Copywriting for businesses, government organizations, and academics.
Editing and coaching nonfiction and fiction writers.
Recording audiobooks and voice-overs.
Book coaching and developmental editing.
And many, many health, parenting, and lifestyle articles for print and online magazines.
I started off writing for a local newspaper and New Zealand parenting magazines. One or two stories a month. Extra pocket money while I raised my babies.
Now my work is published internationally—Insider, Yahoo!Life, Mamamia Australia…
How did you choose what kind of writing to do?
Ever tried following GPS without putting in a destination? Of course not.
You need to know where you’re going.
It’s the same with writing. Most of us aren’t clear when we start out. I certainly wasn’t.
I wanted to be a children’s writer.
Then I wanted to be a “serious” novelist. You know, the literary kind with a Pulitzer slapped on my cover page.
Yeah, lol. I know.
I made some semi-successful attempts to achieve those goals. But it never fit well with my lifestyle or my personality. In the end, all those hours writing poetic prose on my lonesome became frustrating.
I actually enjoy writing shorter pieces.
I LIKE working with editors. I LIKE getting paid every 1K words or so.
I stuffed the 80,000 word unfinished manuscript in a red-lidded box deep in my wardrobe and embraced my new GPS destination.
My goal became:
Write articles and get paid for them.
Eventually, my magazine work of “3 Ways to Entertain Your Toddler on a Rainy Day” expanded.
I started writing essays.
What’s the deal with being an essayist?
“The essayist must be content in his self-imposed role of second-class citizen. A writer who has his sights trained on the Nobel Prize or other earthly triumphs had best write a novel, a poem, or a play, and leave the essayist to ramble about, content with living a free life and enjoying the satisfactions of a somewhat undisciplined existence.”
— E.B. White
Isn’t that a great quote?!
Recently, I’ve drifted closer to the title of “essayist” than writer.
It wasn’t intentional. I just fell in love with creative nonfiction over the years.
In terms of financial gain, this is both good and bad. For me, essays have had some of the biggest payouts, but other types of writing—such as copywriting and service pieces—provide much more consistent work.
If consistent work is what you’re looking for, develop your journalistic and ghostwriting skills.
interviewing
researching
pitching editors with ideas/finding clients
following trends to jump on new story ideas
writing about a niche topic: beauty, tech, politics, fishing, wine
If creativity and self-expression is what you’re craving—you’ll probably fall in love with creative nonfiction too.
Why not both?
I’ve always done both. Service pieces support my time writing essays.
If you long for that Nobel Prize, write a great book or a become an investigative journalist. But I’m assuming for most of us here, creative expression, and perhaps payment for what we do, is enough.
What does Slow Success look like?
To me, success is being paid for my writing. Full stop.
But success is also some of those lovely moments where no money is exchanged. Viral pieces are exciting, but some of my favorite successes have been quiet ones.
Getting an interview published in a book. (I’m in Atlas Obscura!)
Becoming a staff writer for a print magazine.
Winning small writing contests and being asked to be on the judging panel for others.
Being contacted to read my story on two podcasts and having the hosts discuss it.
When a reader sends you an email or comment saying how much a piece meant to them.
Overnight success is a fireworks display that burns out quickly.
Slow success is the soft lamplight by your bed: reliable, comforting, useful.
That’s the kind of success I wish for you.
Happy writing!
Kelly xx
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Kelly, thanks for your excellent advice and perspectives on being a writer. After reading the first paragraph, I was reminded to pour myself another cup of coffee and take my time reading this. Your posts have helped me get my publication, Dimentricy launched and in good shape! The next message you see from me will be my subscription to BYW! Have an awesome day!