January 8, 2015, Category: WritingTips

Why do you want to create stories and what do you expect to get from it? Steps 1-3 are the most important and, most likely, you don’t need more than reading and writing at this point. But if you feel like you need something more, then it is time to talk about Fight Club and Santa Claus.

Writing Tips #4: Fight Club and Santa Claus

4618294_sThis is one several writing tips, all located here: 10 Tips for Writing Awesome Stories. I don’t suggest you start with this one!

Let’s talk about Fight Club. In the movie, a new recruit is shamed and (basically) told he will never amount to anything. He starts to walk away. If this scene bothered you, stop reading.

By now you have explored your writer’s voice through journaling and/or have a stack of short stories to show off. Maybe even the draft of a novel. You have devoured stacks of books and can articulate what you do and don’t like about them. You feel like it’s time for something more.

I don’t know why you want to be a writer. If it is to make money or gain fame, this post is for you. If it is because you love to write, then skip this post and spend the time writing (I’ll have more tips for you next week).

Some of you know the dark secret I’m about to share but most of you still live in blissful ignorance. This is your last warning to back to Tip #3 and pretend they end here. Seriously, get off the porch and go home. I’ve already told you the most important things because you can survive on tips 1-3. You don’t want the truth, trust me. Like shattering a kindergartener about Santa, I’m going to crush your spirit.

You’ll never be a New York Times best seller. You’ll be lucky if you ever make a dime as a creative writer. In fact, plan on spending money to write your stories.

Ouch.

There are hordes of us who want to be writers. Think about how many people you know who have said, “I’d like to be a writer.” A few follow through and write a short story. Even fewer finish a novel. Now take these few and cut out the chunk that actively queries agents and publishers. Not many left from our original pool, is there? You would think at this point your chances would be pretty good. I know I did. But this is where the rejection letters begin to stack up.

You’ve all heard the stories about how X author was rejected XXX times before getting accepted. But what you don’t hear about are the thousands who are still getting rejected. Good authors even!

A tiny fraction make it to the next level and get picked up by agents and publishers. They see their book printed by a publishing house and are considered a published author. But don’t get confused with that term and an author who makes a living writing. Because of the few who get published, only 5% ever make $5,000 or more for their hard work. Most published authors still have a day job to pay the bills.

Depressing, isn’t it? Even if you make it, you probably won’t make it.

So believe me when I say you’ll never be a New York Times best seller. I can say that with confidence knowing that 99.999% of the time I will be 100% correct. It’s the safest bet I’ll ever make in my life. In fact, back when submitting to agents and publishers was always done via snail mail, I remember thinking I’d be a lot better off buying a lottery ticket than a stamp.

But I’m not finished. There is still one bitter truth you need to accept before you can get in the ring. That novel you’ve spent your evenings and weekends toiling on over the past year? Yes, the one filled with characters who have become your family and best friends? The one that busts your buttons now that it is finished? It’s not done. It’s not even close. In fact, you have only cracked the surface and the real work is ahead of you.

In Fight Club, Edward Norton stops Meatloaf from leaving. He tells him he can make it, not to listen to the criticism, and to hang in there. If you are still with me, hang in there. You can still join Fight Club and get the @#$% kicked out of you if that’s what you want. But if you want fame and fortune, there are more effective ways to achieve it. When fame and fortune as your goal you can easily kill your muse. At least it does mine. I am more prone to discouragement and writer’s block when I think about my writing career. So, it could be that the sooner you can let go, the sooner you can become a better writer. I would be many years ahead had I mastered this years ago.

Also, when reading this tip remember tip #3.

If you are still on the doorstep next week for tip #5, we will continue. But in the meantime, consider two of my favorite authors who are New York Times best sellers. Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn) wrote 12 novels and amassed a massive stack of rejection letters before getting published. Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind) spent seven years writing his rough draft and then another seven editing it. Inspiring! I’d also like to recognize the hard work and dedication of the tens of thousands who wrote just as hard but are still writing on nights and weekends. Cheers to all of you! Some of you will break through next year!

Continue to Tip #5

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