10 Principles of Successful Writers
Number three is the key…
It is well known that a lot of writers never become successful. In fact, only a small percentage, about 5%, ever become truly successful as writers. Knowing this fact, I have done a bit of research and have found out some principles of successful writers that can be the difference between failure and success as a writer.
1. PASSION: As obvious as it may seem, it is necessary to note that to become successful as a writer, one needs to be passionate about writing. There is an alarming number of people becoming writers not because they love writing, but because they perceive that they will be able to make a lot of money by writing and it is well known that that mindset almost always leads to failure. There is no truly successful writer out there who isn’t passionate and who doesn’t enjoy writing.
2. SPECIALIZATION: Most, if not all successful writers are usually known or famous for a particular novel genre, from romance to mystery to fantasy to crime. It is well known that it is better to be a master of one trade than to be a jack of all trades and a master of none and the same applies to writing. Before you venture into the world of writing, choose a particular genre that you love and are good at, and develop yourself there.
3. DISCIPLINE: There is an alarming number of ‘writers’ who begin numerous books and are never able to finish them. They usually write a bunch of chapters when they are feeling motivated but quickly abandon the stories when they get bored. You should understand that writing is not as easy as it may seem. It is not easy at all. It is actually quite a difficult job. So, remember that to finish a large book or a series, those successful writers had to be disciplined enough to put in the required time and effort.
4. MASTERY: Evidently, you cannot become successful as a mediocre writer. And although the writing standards are dropping, you still need to read books, courses and read educative articles that would teach you the craft of plot, setting, character, style, description, editing, etc. Successful, award-winning writers have already gained mastery of these crafts, and are that is why they are in the position that they are now. So remember that to be successful, you need to gain mastery of the art of writing.
5. PERSEVERANCE: As a writer, one of the most inevitable things that you will encounter is failure. While you are still developing yourself, it is likely that you will receive a lot of rejection letters from publishers and the likes but remember that it’s all a part of the game. Many successful writers experienced similar failures as you did too so just as they did, you need to keep pushing on and striving until you encounter the rare and desired success.
6. PEOPLE OR FANS: Nowadays, in the age of self-publishing, people are now being faced with the task of selling their books, themselves to their targeted audiences. And a tactic people use is establishing a fan base through a Youtube channel, a blog, an email subscriber list, followers on social media, etc, usually long before they begin selling their books. It is best to find out the best ways you can get this fan base to be able to make a profit from your books, especially if you are looking into self-publishing. Many successful writers have a secured fan base and so should you.
7. MARKETING OR PROMOTION: Nowadays, more people are choosing to market or promote their books by themselves, and to successfully do that, you have to learn the proper way to sell, and even more importantly, you need to master digital marketing. Writers who can master the art of promoting and selling their books usually end up being super successful. Luckily, there are numerous courses, such as the Google Digital Marketing Course and numerous books that can teach you how to exploit the internet to promote and market your books. You need to build a brand for yourself and maximize your use of technology and the internet to become successful.
8. PROFESSIONALISM: To be successful as a writer, you need to be professional and have knowledge about how to run your writing business. You should be able to know how to publish your books on certain platforms as a self-publisher or know how to pitch your book to an agent or a publishing company. You should be able to build a brand for yourself, maximize technology to your benefit, and be a lifelong learner.
9. IMAGINATION: To be a successful writer, especially in poetry and fiction, you have to have a wide imagination. One can only wonder what spur of creativity and what wild imaginations led to the creation of beloved books and book series like The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc. If you have a problem spurring your imagination, I suggest that you should either go to wonderful, colorful places to get imaginative or simply sit still in a quiet place and try to stretch your mind to its limit.
10. LANGUAGE: As a writer, you should have command over whatever language you are using to write. Your language should be sound, clear, and beautiful. You should be able to form your words with grace and clarity. You should put pressure on every important word and be mindful about using your words in a deliberate way. You should be able to always find the right, triggering verb to use to spur the emotions of the reader. That is why great books resonate with us so much. They take a simple premise or idea and use the power of language to transform these ideas into something beautiful.
Rest assured, if you can implement all these principles into your writing life, you will be able to move to the next level as a writer.
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