Write Often — Write A Lot — Then, Write Some More

I recently wrote an article about my statistics during my first month using crowdsourced publishing platforms like Medium, Vocal, Substack, NewsBreak, and others.

Ironically enough, the first article I wrote in this, my second month using CPPs, was curated on Medium, and because of the immense popularity of that subject…another of my articles; a 90-minute video conference with the founders of Simily, I believe my analytics article got a little overshadowed — kind of like a supple young Crape Myrtle in the shadow of a mighty Oak.

By the way, if you are curious about the platform Simily, or if you currently publish there also, you will definitely want to check out that article, so I will provide you a link here: My Candid 90-Minute Video Conference With The Founders of Simily.

In fairness, the Simily article was destined to be popular because it directly affects the earning potential of many writers. The fact that it too was curated immediately upon its publication helped with that also.

The point of this article, however, isn’t to shamelessly promote my other articles — that’s only a sweet secondary benefit.

No, my purpose is to point out that in the article regarding my first-month metrics, I explained that I accomplished the things that I did in such a short period because I did exactly the opposite of what most of the 'experts' who continually post 'how to' articles across all of these platforms suggest every day that newbie writers do.

No, That wasn’t a typo.

There is one thing that most successful writers agree upon completely, however, and that is: that we must all write incessantly. What most don't tell you though, is also painfully obvious, though often overlooked -- practice is worthless unless we practice correctly.

Think about it, if our practice is flawed, all we're doing by continuing to practice flawed writing, is to get more practiced at writing incorrectly.

As if some sort of supernatural justification, today I received this email from, of all places, Grammarly. The cover photo of that email I screenshot on my iPhone and included as the thumbnail and primary image for this article.

That’s not a typo either.

In fact, it's substantially lower than the actual word count I created over the past four weeks. That’s because I wrote an awful lot on my phones and tablets and they are signed up to different Grammarly accounts than the one on my laptop, where I create most of my content. Nevertheless, the point is, even though I have been supporting my family through writing for almost 30 years, I still write — a lot.

If you take away nothing else from this article, take this:

If you want to be a professional writer, you too must write — a lot.

Honestly, I never knew Grammarly even tracked metrics like these. I guess you learn something new every day.

But I wanted to use that email from Grammarly to show that I put my money where my mouth is.

Rather than sitting here trying to sell you some worthless ‘how to succeed' -or- 'How to be a better writer’ course which isn’t worth the value of the electricity that was used to create it, I am reinforcing my commitment to helping people who want to be better writers. Notice, I didn’t say better bloggers. I’m sorry to tell some of these folks, that there is a huge difference between the two.

Bloggers write opinions.

Occasionally, writers write opinions too--they are called Op-Eds — or opinionated editorials.

Bloggers and vloggers get paid by getting lots and lots of clicks or views, however much of that content is very poorly written and even more poorly produced. Nevertheless, if their subject matter resonates with some niche of humanity, bloggers and vloggers can still attract very large numbers of views equating to decent paydays for them.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with doing that if that’s what you want to do with your life, but those people are absolutely, 100% not writers.

Writers, in contrast, don't make a living by generating clicks. They don’t sell products or courses either — those are salespeople and marketers, not writers. Writers make a living because people who don't know them form a hole in the ground, buy what they write.

There’s an old axiom, “those who can't do it, teach it.” It became such a well-renowned cliche because most of the time, it holds true.

Again, I have to clarify for those anxiously outlining their hate mail comments as they read this, there’s nothing wrong with doing any of those things. But none of them makes you a writer. Literally — none of them.

Next, I’m sure someone will read this and declare:

“Well, that’s your opinion.”

Nope. Sorry. Like any other skilled profession, writing, particularly journalism, is a learned skill. To be proficient requires formal education. Sorry again, but there’s just no getting past that.

Sure, there are people who are born with a greater aptitude for the English language and the nuances of how to use it creatively and effectively, than others. These people are definitely talented. But, just as with any other profession on earth, the sole authority and decider of quality and professionalism, can never be the manufacturer of the product.

Unless and until, someone completely unassociated and unrelated to a creator consumes the product, and deems it commercially viable, none of us can be considered a professional writer.

No, earning a few hundred bucks per month blogging on CPPs in no way makes you a professional writer. It makes you a content creator and a blogger. And that truth cannot and will never be changed by people who just want to refer to themselves as writers at all costs.

This includes people who upload manuscripts to Amazon and sell a few dozen copies of them. Sorry, you are not a published author. Never. Not until some recognized industry authority consumes your product and grants it professional validity.

This is also directly analogous to being a doctor.

If someone is badly hurt in front of you and you save their life from bleeding out by applying a tourniquet or performing CPR, you should be proud of yourself for saving a life. You still aren’t a doctor. What’s more, no matter how desperately you will yourself to be a doctor--no matter how expensive a stethoscope you go out and buy along with a perfectly creased arctic white lab coat-- it still doesn't make you a doctor.

Not until you go through the steps to become a recognized professional. The formal education, the residencies, internships, and finally the licensing and accreditation. Once all of that is complete, then and only then, have you earned the right to call yourself a doctor.

It works exactly the same with writing -- no matter what anyone online tells you.

Sure, you can have an article published in a local newspaper or magazine. Sure, you can publish until you turn blue on Medium, Simily, Vocal, and the like. Yep, you can even upload a manuscript to Amazon and sell 18 copies of it a day for over a week.

None of that makes you a writer. Those are content creators. Again, there is nothing wrong with being a content creator, but it's important to recognize yourself as being what you actually are in relation to where you are in your chosen career path.

Lastly

I need to address the absurd notion that people who tell you these things are ‘elitists’ who want to deny anyone else ‘admittance into the club.’

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the people who claim this are in fact exhibiting elitist behavior themselves. Throwing a tantrum and stomping their feet like a 5-year-old girl with a broken Barbie doll, until they get their way, doesn’t make them writers either — just cranky bitches.

None of us can will ourselves into a profession — at least, not a skilled profession. Sure you can learn how to be a grape picker without much formal instruction, but not a writer.

None of us can teach ourselves the profession of writing.

Sure, we can practice in solitude like a concert pianist for hundreds of hours to hone our craft, but the practice is only the recording of repetition. The initial skill has to come from some external source and all the YouTube videos, Wikipedia and Google searches in the world aren't going to help.

Hopefully, this article will resonate with some of you who have some natural talent and will help you to focus that talent in the right direction for success as a professional writer. The people who will not accept this, are the people who have no talent and who think that the louder they yell and the stronger they stomp, they can make themselves right-- They can’t.

I have taught English for almost 30 years. This is what I do. I write. I am a writer. I have paid my dues, I have earned my chops, and I have been supporting my family with my writing for almost three decades. You can too — if you want to do what is necessary to make that happen — but it isn't easy, and it certainly isn’t a quick process.

I wish you all the best of luck — even the bloggers and vloggers. As always, I am available to assist anyone who genuinely wants to be a professional writer. In that pursuit, I will be creating an entire series of creative writing practices and exercises to help anyone polish their skill in this amazing profession.

Yes, most of that content will be free. The only thing I will be charging for eventually is my time as a tutor and for teaching you the business of being a writer. Increasing the overall competency level of content the world is producing, is my main goal.

I hope to see you along for the ride.