Thursday, March 10, 2005
"Everybody thinks they're a writer"
Melba Newsome, my friend and fellow member of The American Society of Journalists & Authors, waxes philosophic about wannabe writers in her latest Q&A column, Straight Shooting, in the March 2005 issue of The ASJA Monthly. My favorite snippet from the piece is a question posed by a professional writer about said-wannabes and Melba’s answer.
Here 'tis:
Q: I’m frequently approached by someone wanting advice on how to be a writer. I try to be helpful and answer their questions but frankly it’s draining, especially when they won’t take my advice. They zone out whenever I tell them to read certain books, take classes, read magazines and start off small. They are convinced that if I could just give them all my editorial contacts, they could be published in the same magazines. How do I handle this without acting as if I don’t want to help?
A: Being a writer is one of the few professions everyone believes they can do. After all, we learned to write in the first grade so how much harder can it be to write for publication? Whenever I tell someone that it’s a long, hard slog between writing those ever so witty family Christmas letters to being in The New Yorker, their eyes glaze over. They want a short cut, not a road map. Every time I explain to writer wanna-bes how it works, most think those rules are OK for other people but their story is so perfect and compelling, they don’t need to follow them. They remember that John Grisham’s first published novel made him a millionaire; they’ve forgotten that he wrote at 4:30 every morning and how many publishers rejected him. Continue to do what you’re doing but realize that most people don’t want to write; they want to be published. Take comfort in knowing that although there are a lot of writers out there, you really don’t have much competition.
MY COMMENT: Perfect question. Priceless answer.
Melba, who lives and works just up the road from me in Charlotte, North Carolina (I’m in Columbia, S.C.), has written for a variety of publications, including O, the Oprah Magazine; National Geographic; Lifetime; and Good Housekeeping.
AFTERTHOUGHT: The above Q&A brings to mind another of the many excuse-laden battle-cries of the whining wannabes... that of “writers block.”
Like Melba says, “most people don't want to write; they want to be published.” True, and in many cases, “writers block” is a direct reflection of that fact. I discuss it here in a piece for the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
WTSjr
Here 'tis:
Q: I’m frequently approached by someone wanting advice on how to be a writer. I try to be helpful and answer their questions but frankly it’s draining, especially when they won’t take my advice. They zone out whenever I tell them to read certain books, take classes, read magazines and start off small. They are convinced that if I could just give them all my editorial contacts, they could be published in the same magazines. How do I handle this without acting as if I don’t want to help?
A: Being a writer is one of the few professions everyone believes they can do. After all, we learned to write in the first grade so how much harder can it be to write for publication? Whenever I tell someone that it’s a long, hard slog between writing those ever so witty family Christmas letters to being in The New Yorker, their eyes glaze over. They want a short cut, not a road map. Every time I explain to writer wanna-bes how it works, most think those rules are OK for other people but their story is so perfect and compelling, they don’t need to follow them. They remember that John Grisham’s first published novel made him a millionaire; they’ve forgotten that he wrote at 4:30 every morning and how many publishers rejected him. Continue to do what you’re doing but realize that most people don’t want to write; they want to be published. Take comfort in knowing that although there are a lot of writers out there, you really don’t have much competition.
MY COMMENT: Perfect question. Priceless answer.
Melba, who lives and works just up the road from me in Charlotte, North Carolina (I’m in Columbia, S.C.), has written for a variety of publications, including O, the Oprah Magazine; National Geographic; Lifetime; and Good Housekeeping.
AFTERTHOUGHT: The above Q&A brings to mind another of the many excuse-laden battle-cries of the whining wannabes... that of “writers block.”
Like Melba says, “most people don't want to write; they want to be published.” True, and in many cases, “writers block” is a direct reflection of that fact. I discuss it here in a piece for the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
WTSjr
# posted by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. @ 11:32 PM 
