You're a Writer Now

i went to a great seminar this evening about the writing profession. It was filled with useful information about the mechanics of getting articles published. He gave us all the tricks so we could appear like professionals our first time out.

My favorite piece of advice boiled down to this: you are a writer when you think you are a writer. Not when you first get published, or when you get your first idea accepted, not even when you finish your first article. The profession begins when you intentionally say "I am a writer. That is the central focus of my life." And from this intention flows all the practical rigamarole that leads to publication and even more personal confidence when you answer, "I'm a writer" to the question, "What do you do?"

Another great piece of advice he had was that professionals sell, then write, while amateurs do it backwards. The pros write to editors with story ideas and only put in the effort of writing when the idea is accepted. This makes so much sense I'm surprised I didn't think of it before. Why write an article on spec? Better to know that someone wants it, and have already negotiated what sort of tone and direction is appropriate, before you set down to write.

The exception is newspapers. They run on such a tight timeframe that sending out a manuscript cold is OK.

I'm so excited about writing now (he was a very motivating speaker) that I want to sit down right now and get an article from my Shamrock to Kiwi blog and send it out to 10 newspapers. But, alas, it is bedtime. Maybe tomorrow.