There's More Than One Way to Become a Successful Writer

“What have you been up to since I last saw you, Brian?”

“I’m glad you asked,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to speak to you for a while. I’ve been writing a book and I need your advice.”

“That’s easy,” I said. “You can either be Harper Lee or George Donald.”

“Why?”

“Because they have one important thing in common.”

Harper Lee

I first read Harper Lee as part of my English O-level coursework. The dreaded chore turned out to be a life-changing experience. To Kill a Mockingbird became one of the five books I read as a teenager, which turned me into a lifelong reader and learner.

I’ve read it twice and watched the award-winning film starring Gregory Peck half a dozen times — writing this has given me the urge to watch it again.

They translated her book into some 40 languages, sold over 40 million copies worldwide, and it is one of the most-assigned novels in schools worldwide. Though she published To Set a Watchman in 2015, a book marketed to be its sequel, it was originally the first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird.

In a 2011 interview with an Australian newspaper, Rev. Dr Thomas Lane Butts said Lee was living in an assisted-living facility, was using a wheelchair, was partially blind and deaf, and suffering from memory loss.

Butts also shared that Lee told him why she never wrote again —

“Two reasons: one, I wouldn’t go through the pressure and publicity I went through with To Kill a Mockingbird for any amount of money. Second, I have said what I wanted to say, and I will not say it again.”

George Donald

You probably will not have heard of George Donald. George describes himself as a ‘hobby author’ who self-publishes on Amazon.

George served as a Royal Engineer Commando before joining Strathclyde Police, where he served for 22 years, including 16 years as a CID officer.

I can’t remember how I came across him. However, in 2018 I purchased A Decent Wee Man.

It is a brilliant story.

Jimmy McGrath isn’t the sort of man that people notice, but we all know someone like him. The nice man who lives next door. Jimmy would never condone or take part in any kind of crime or violence. Well, not until his lifelong friend is subjected to a violent street attack. That is when the mild-mannered Jimmy decides that enough is enough.

I read several of George’s books following this one. But there was a problem.

You might have guessed from the cover. All his covers are amateurish, sometimes cringeworthy, always awful. None of his books are properly formatted nor are they edited — grammar, spelling, structure and flow take a back seat and never pop up their head to advise George he might be taking the long way around.

Formatting isn’t as much of an issue on an eReader, but I like the feel of a paperback and I found it offputting. When George stopped publishing on paperbacks, I stopped reading.

I still get an email notification from George when he publishes a new book — roughly every three months. His output is prolific. Since 2012, George has published 56 novels, roughly five every year.

The ones I read all had brilliant stories.

And you know what? George Donald has a loyal and growing audience. Reviews on Amazon are always in the 100s and he gets 4* + ratings. In other words, he is making money. Probably good money.

One review said —

“I have read all of George’s books and seen the improvement grow. I am at that age where I notice modern expressions used in an eighties environment and they just stand out like a sore thumb. We didn’t ask our girlfriends ‘Are we good’ and she answered, ‘Yes we’re good’. You might as well promise to text her. I have nearly finished, but keep expecting another time travel.”

Brian

Brian asked for my advice. “I’ve been busy writing,” he told me, “and I’d like your opinion.”

Brian sent me the full digital file of his first novel — all 98,945 words of it. Gulp. I resolved to set to it.

I found 22 non-standard issues on the first page of Brian’s novel — and I am not a trained editor. The book was riddled with grammatical errors and formatting problems. It reminded me of my first efforts at writing.

I advised Brian to buy a grammar checker. He followed my lead and bought the lifetime version of ProWritingAid — seemed the best value. I spent an afternoon showing him how to use it.

Against my advice, Brian went with a vanity publisher.

Months later, I was back at his house, helping him with his second novel. I sat on a chair fashioned from the books his vanity publisher had sent him as part of his package.

This week, Brian sent me his third novel. It’s better. Not so many mistakes. He has justified his text to both margins of the page. He only leaves a space between paragraphs when there is a scene change.

He doesn’t use ellipses, exclamation marks or brackets (…)! indiscriminately — still too often, but not as promiscuously as he did with his first book.

He still uses “CAPITALS” when characters are shouting and they speak in stilted, unrealistic English.

None of those issues hit on the real problem. The real problem is Brian’s stories are good. That’s it. They are better than mediocre, but they stop at good. He’ll never sell 40 million like Harper Lee and he is not as prolific as George Donald.

You might think that Brian is not a success, but he is. Brian had an urge to write a novel. He did it. And he can hold his book in his hands, ruffle the pages, smell the ink, toss a copy to a friend and they can look at his name on the cover.

Brian is 77. He’s not about to waste his time trying to get a traditional publisher. His goal was to get a book published, and he has done it — twice. Another one is on the way and a fourth is already being planned, and the premise for the fourth is promising.

Writers come in all measures

Harper Lee wrote a classic and got all the fame and glory she didn’t want. George Donald has many a story to tell and doesn’t waste time getting them out there. Brian satisfied his want.

I reckon every writer should choose who they want to be and be happy in their skin, like Brian. But, if your goal is to become a commercial success — make sure you have a brilliant story to tell

The one thing Harper Lee and George Donald have in common is they both have brilliant stories to tell.

Malky McEwan