Tips for Turning Your Passion for Writing Into a Career Writing can be a fulfilling career, and you can start making it your priority with these useful tips.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
The question I get asked most often by aspiring and emerging writers is, "How do I turn my passion for writing into a successful business venture?"
I answer this question based on the fact that I turned my love for writing into a successful and meaningful enterprise, and I have also mentored writers and BIZ Experiencess.
First, I launched an online news media business that published original news articles, video interviews and eBooks that I profitably sold. Next, I started a book writing and publishing business that turns the knowledge and experience of subject matter experts into a world-class book. To this, I added short-form and long-form content writing services for companies and individuals that is not only expanding, but has also helped augment my personal growth.
How did I turn my penchant for writing into a rewarding "writerpreneurial" career? By continually honing my writing skills and developing the mindset of a writerpreneur.
Who is a successful writerpreneur? This is a writer whose product and service is his or her writing and has turned that into a successful writing BIZ Experiencesial venture.
Here are my three tips to help you convert your zeal for writing into a fulfilling and flourishing writerpreneurial pursuit. These are based on experiences and lessons learned from my writerpreneur journey.
Related: How to Become a Content Writer
Read often and extensively
Author Steve Siebold interviewed 1,200 of the world's wealthiest people over three decades and found that they had one thing in common — they read knowledge-enriching books. This is not the only reason to be a voracious reader; if you want to be a consummate writer and a successful writerpreneur, you must read extensively, write abundantly and tell a story effectively.
Read often and read widely. Read books, eBooks, articles, blogs, white papers and more. Explore various genres and writing styles. This will help you expand your vocabulary, improve the power of written expression, assist in structuring and developing content, encourage you to constantly evaluate your written work, and make you a more informed creator.
Read the work of writers in your areas of interest and specialization, and also outside your domain expertise. In addition, read about BIZ Experiencesship, business models, success, failures, leadership, economics, finance, psychology, marketing, sales, communications, media relations, emerging technologies and digital business. These are as important as writing.
Barring exceptions, today's successful writerpreneurs have to know how to promote, sell and manage their work, business and career, so merely knowing how to write is not adequate. You have to understand how technology will affect the writing industry, how to make money from writing, how to think like an BIZ Experiences and become solution-oriented, and how to use your highs and lows to your advantage.
Take pride in being a writer
I have seen most BIZ Experiencess, marketers, engineers, lawyers and doctors introduce themselves to other people with pride, but I have not seen many aspiring and emerging writers introduce or present themselves with pride or self-worth.
"Writing is just something I do on the side."
"At what point can I call myself a real writer?"
"I am not a published writer."
"I hesitate to introduce myself as a writer because I don't earn enough as a writer."
Time and again, I have heard these statements from people in different parts of the world. This may be a natural reaction for wannabe or up-and-coming writers, but it is the very thing that prevents them from becoming an acclaimed writer or a successful writerpreneur.
You are not a writer when you get a book deal, when you sell your first hundred copies, when you hit the bestsellers list, or when you make it as a content BIZ Experiences. You are a writer when you start calling yourself a writer, when you think and act like a writer, and when you take pride in being a writer. It is only then that you can embark on a path to becoming a consequential writer-entrepreneur. If you don't believe in yourself or take yourself seriously as a writer, you can't expect others to do so.
Confidence matters and is infectious — it improves the quality of your work, and when you start calling yourself a writer, you raise the stakes. That means you can also call your own bluff.
You must bear in mind that taking pride in being a writer is not about arrogance or living in some kind of utopia. It is about the self-respect that accompanies the pursuit of an interest or profession with sincerity and a burning desire to succeed.
Related: How to Start a Freelance Writing Side Hustle
Become the best writer you can be to write what you would love to read
"How do I become a terrific writer?"
"What should I write about?"
These are two questions that are also asked of me frequently.
First, write every day or as regularly as you can with an eye to becoming an improved, versatile and exceptional writer. Write to express and not to impress. Write in a conversational style and keep it simple, clear and concise.
Writing is a process that involves pre-writing, writing, revising and editing to become the best writer you can be to produce what you would love to read. That is when your words will strike a chord with readers.
Before you commence writing, it helps to determine what you want to write about and then create an outline to capture and organize the main and supporting ideas for the topic you want to write about. Then write or fill your content around the outline.
How do you decide what to write about? Pick something that interests you, that you are familiar with, that you know well, or that you love.
The biggest advantage of writing about your skills, expertise, experience and knowledge (SEEK), or creating content around your purpose or passion, is that it helps you differentiate yourself as a writer in a crowd of writers worldwide. Be mindful of the fact that what interests you or what you write about must interest readers as well.
Second, bear in mind that people buy stories, emotions and feelings more than the written material, so create content that develops an emotional connection between the readers and you. In essence, write to engage, inspire, entertain, amuse, inform or educate.
Third, revise and edit. Revising and editing is what will make your writing shine and transform average drafts into compelling or buzzworthy content.
Finally, sign up with a mentor who excels in writing, business and marketing. The mentor can offer you unbiased advice or constructive critique to hone your craft and guide you on matters concerning the writing and publishing business, particularly when you are working toward making the business of writing a thriving business.
To conclude, a positive attitude and the intrinsic motivation and drive to succeed are the characteristics of an BIZ Experiencesial mindset. If you pour your voice and heart into what you write and push through rejections, fears and failures that all writers and BIZ Experiencess face, then you can turn setbacks into comebacks and create a writerpreneurial venture you will be proud of.
