This is a take for all aspiring writers out there, you’ve got to have a lot of guts in order to gain very little of the actual glory.
I went to lunch with a dear friend who happens to have a decade’s worth of wonderful writing experience. She has worked in the advertising industry and as a technical writer with the real claim to any kind of financial gain being in the technical writing sphere.
I introduced her to my column, almost embarrassed since I didn’t have the expertise and I’m hoping that I can get some actual criticism to improve upon my writing skills.
It really got me thinking about what kind of writer do I want to be and wondering whether or not I could make a true living at it. Magazines and Online publications seem to be where my attraction is. I love social media such as blogging, twitter and of course Facebook and that’s where I gravitate. However, I need to come up with a 6 month plan so that I can truly track my progress as a writer. So here is my 6 month plan:
1) Evaluate my current writing style – – ask for feedback, critique etc from at least 5 people that are in the business. (Create a survey)
2) Create my portfolio – Online portfolio with contact information and my work dating back to my internship days. Should be a combination resume/portfolio
3) Improve upon current column – create a plan for article topics, social media linking, advertising plan, opportunities to conduct interviews etc.
4) Ask for another column
5) Explore other distribution avenues
This is just my own plan, how anyone wants to pursue their writing career or part time gig is apparently up to them. However, you need to have a vision, some goals and a plan. My goal by the end of 6 months is to increase my earnings by 100%. Then go back to this plan and make some more changes. Secondary goals are to increase my credibility, writing style and notoriety.
Improving my communications has been made possible through completion of Level 1 – NLP Building Relationships and just overall observations with my fellow coworkers and friends. If not for tapping into the positive energy and expertise of my fellow “people” it would not be possible.
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