1. Remember to practice patience and perseverance. While it’s important to ‘dream big’, it’s also important to remain as realistic as possible and remember you share your dream with thousands, if not millions, of other people globally. Becoming an author is a hard slog and you'll often want to pack the whole writing business in, but it’s the patience and perseverance that will hold you in good stead. Marissa Meyer, New York Times-bestselling author of Heartless and The Lunar Chronicles, puts it brilliantly in saying, “Yes, there are writers who were published when they were seventeen years old, but there are also writers who weren’t published until they were seventy. There are writers who hit the jackpot with their first manuscript, and there are some who have twenty rejected novels sitting on their computer. Getting published involves diligence, hard work, determination, and—yes—luck. The whims of the market cannot be ignored. There are a lot of factors outside of your control. But one thing that is within your control is the work itself. So, take the time you need to write the best book you are currently capable of writing.” Background quote: I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide. — Harper Lee

2. Learn from the best. If you’re serious about writing as a career, then treat it as such. In most, if not all, other professions you’re expected to receive and take on board a certain amount of training – to listen and to be taught. Why should writing be any different? It’ll be in your best interests to attend workshops and listen to what successful, published authors have to say.

3. Try to accept all criticism – both good and bad. This is what will help you grow as an author. No one is ‘out to get’ you and you’ll find pretty much everyone you share your dream with is rooting for you – including the publishing houses! Publishers know what sells and friends and family know what they’d want to read. On the same note, try to show your work to close family as a last port of call. Quite often they don't want to offend, so test it elsewhere first, if you can. If you receive criticism you’re not too happy with, remember that everyone is a potential reader and to see if the critique can be used to improve both your skills and the work itself. Agents, editors, reviewers, readers and trolls on the Internet are all going to say things you don’t want to hear. Writing is a hard-knock career where you invite a bevy of slings and arrows into your face and heart. It is what it is.

4. Don't become a writer because you think it is an ‘easy option’. It’s not. It’s anything but, and it’s REALLY hard work. To become successful, you have to work 365 days a year. Either adding to your work, removing from your work, editing your work, sharing your work… the list goes on. There are very few other jobs that demand the sort of commitment which writing asks of you.

5. You can write whatever you want. Chuck Wendig, we think, puts it perfectly in saying, “As a writer, the world you create is yours and yours alone. Someone will always be there to tell you what you can’t do, but they’re nearly always wrong. You’re a writer. You can make anything up that you want. It may not be lucrative. It may not pay your mortgage. But we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about what’s going on between you and the blank page before you. It’s just you and the story. If you love it and you want to write it, then wire your trap shut and write it. And write it well. Expect nothing beyond this — expect no reward, expect no victory parade — but embrace the satisfaction it gives you to do your thing.”

6. Read. Read, read and read again. Pull back that nostalgia and remember what inspired you. Reading helps train the mind to focus on words. There’s no such thing as a bad book when you’re a writer – all books will teach you how YOU want to write and the style you want to adopt. Stephen King once said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that”, and we couldn’t agree more.

7. While you’re reading, remember you need to write! Write EVERY day. Keep the passion alive. If you’re not a writer, something will stop you — your own doubts, a bad review, poor time management... whatever excuse you can create. If you’re a writer, you’ll write. And you’ll never stop to look back.

8. Remember, your first draft will be the first of many. Anne Lamott put it brilliantly when she said, “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” Even Ernest Hemingway recognised that the first draft of everything is never the finished article. Don’t let this discourage you. Keep on keeping on. Amend, change, edit, rewrite – do whatever you need to do to create your masterpiece. And do it for the love of writing. A masterpiece doesn’t need to be seen by the world to be great, just by one who appreciates its beauty.

By Sammi Leaver - Digital Marketing Manager