WRITERS: EXPECTATIONS vs REALITY (+bonus my advice on experience)

Expectation:-

"Will do by the evening..."

Reality:-

2 years later- "it's not done yet..."

My advice-

Writing a day, keeps laters away

I know being a writer might seem easy to some people and yet it can be easy, once you learn how to focus on your work DAILY!!

Yeah, to become a writer you MUST spend every single FREE moment of your life thinking about your characters, story or book. I am not saying that you should get obsessed with writing, No, never (how can you hate such a 'beautiful' thing?) but, you cannot rely on writing as your only carrier and you might have to work for other jobs and still, write. So, you must spare those 5 minutes/ 1 hour or any free time you get into deciding each step of your book. For me, as a student, I live a real busy life (yes, i do 😑) so, whenever i get free time, like before going to bed, during lunch/dinner or maybe when i have walks, I just stick to where my stories are and where they need to go.

Moral - As a writer you must forever and ever think about your books (I actually mean those two moments😶) and if you get obsessed with your own character/ story just think what impact would it have on the reader.🙄

Expectation-

Let's type!

Reality-

[Ping! Pop up!] Wait what!? Mary's got the latest bracelet!? hey, What's that? [scroll down](hahaha.)

My Advice-

Internet is a harmful addiction

Try to focus only on your writing unless it is a critical situation. Try your best on not to have an internet connection on your phone or laptop, wherever you work specifically... Also I would suggest that you should either use free and offline typing programmes/softwares such as word processor or maybe scribus and if you can afford, then, vellum. My advice for fiction fantasy writers who actually don't use graphics or art in their books should use word processor since it's specifically made for typing, typing and typing only. Also to improve your vocabulary, it isn't harmful to use applications such as Grammerly, is it?

Expectation-

I just finished typing and it's ready to be published

Reality-

My Files > Documents > Novels > Novel 1 > Novel Final > Novel Finalized Final > Novel Finalizedly Finalized Final > Novel to be Published

My Advice-

Editing is a process that helps erasing past mistakes

To a person who is 'To Be A Writer' writer then you should keep in mind that a novel/ book is not published in a single read. It is a series of reading, I should say, proof reading. It involves a read for spelling mistakes, another for grammar, another for storyline and another for critique. If you think writing a book is gonna be that easy then you are wrong. Writing a book just doesn't mean writing down your thoughts on a piece of paper and then hiring a publisher to print it, No. As a writer you must keep in mind that readers get involved in the 'way' the things are written. The more beautifully you express the thing the more the reader is attracted and the more he/she understands. Try to read the books of the genre you are writing and think of how your manuscript and words are different from the trending/the specific genre or sub-genre.

Expectation-

Money babe! I'm rich now!

Reality-

Can I get a penny please? Please pity on this li'l author! I'll write for you forever!

My Advice-

Money is a bad habit

Well, if you're entering this 'easy' field just for the sake of money then, you should think (know) you've lost before you started. To earn money one must have the fame/ recognition and if you're not ready to work for that, Leave this Field. And if you're the writing crap who is actually passionate to write then, here is another advice for you. You should never rely only on your writing as it might run you out of money. Writing as a profession, just like any other profession needs expenses that can only be looked upon by a person who is to the least, neutral at financial health. Also, keep on writing and work hard.

Expectation-

Hey! That's a good publisher, It's a deal, I'll pay you!

Reality-

You said my book will sell more than a 100 copies!!!!

[Sir, we just 'said' that -_-]

My Advice-

Publishers (usually) betray!

To be honest, if you're thinking of publishing your book by collaborating with a publisher and then receiving fame then, this is going to be the worst mistake you're gonna do in your life! Before contacting the publisher you should read this, for a publisher you're not a special author who wrote in the genre and has done this great deed, but, they get a millions of entries of the same storylines everyday. Also, I too paid about, $483 to a publisher I dealt with, and what got in return was a fucking not-expected cover and a post on Instagram by the publishers side to what so-called 'Book Promotion' so, I'd say, publishers work like authors, they use beautiful words to attract you and once you have paid and the book is published they don't care a hang of how you're book is doing now.

SO, big question, 'What should I do?' well, there are many self-publishing platforms, but I recommend Kdp, since it's a big platform (I've used only kdp so....yeah, I don't have an explanation, why). Self-publishing a good platform. And if you are looking for proofreaders, cover designers etc.. Then you can get those on websites on Reedsy and sure can contact us for any further support. Our aim is to get to know aspiring authors and guide them through.

Expectation-

Idea!

Reality-

What was that word?

My Advice-

Observe

Many people think that 'writer' is a perfect synonym for 'idea!' but, unfortunately, It's NOT. Obviously, you won't get ideas out of woof. To get ideas you should try to remember your dreams, and even if you can't do that here's another tip. Look around you and think of it in a different context. I know that sounds weird and confusing here, lemme say an example;

My sister, Summer, is too interested in writing novels and once while we were scrolling through Youtube, we came across a song called Carousel by Melanie Martinez and so fascinated was she by the song that she started writing a fiction book on a circus! How crazy is that?! One song and a whole story! That's what you have to do.

In a sense we can conclude that being a writer is not an easy job and one must have some other occupation to earn. Also, writing good stories need good ideas and usually these good ideas come from personal experiences and these experiences are often common experiences seen in a different context.

Maybe this was it for now and let's wind up. Also, don't forget to sign to up for the forum and the groups and follow us on social media and buy our books!

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"The only advice anybody can give is, If you wanna be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything"

-Stan Lee