Are you looking for a new career? Would you like to try your hand at writing and see what it’s like? If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about becoming a professional writer. It will cover everything from the basics of grammar to pitching and publishing. So, read on and enjoy the ride.
The Basics Of Writing
To begin with, let’s discuss the most basic rules of writing. While there aren’t any hard and fast rules, there are some things you need to keep in mind if you want to write professionally. These include:
Grammar
Whether you’re formally educated or not, you’ll eventually need to learn grammar. Not understanding grammar can seriously impair your ability to express yourself clearly. Even if you’re not a native English speaker, it’s essential to learn the rules of English grammar. A good grammar app is Witek. With Witek, you can learn grammar rules and exceptions as you go along. Checking your grammar and spelling as you write will also help others to understand you better. Another tool many writers use is called Grammarly. It’s a reputable tool that uses a drag-and-drop interface to easily learn grammar rules. From there, you can move on to spelling and style. You can also find online Grammarly tutors, who will help you improve your grammar and spelling skills.
Style
When writing, you need to put your personality aside and focus on the task at hand. This is called ‘writing objectively’. You should learn to adopt a more professional writing style if you want to write professionally. The style you choose will depend on your target audience. If you’re writing for a niche audience, then you may want to write in a more casual style. Alternatively, you could opt for a more formal style if you’re writing for a more mainstream audience. You should learn to write properly, using the correct grammar and diction. You also need to keep your paragraphs short and your sentences clean, so that your text can flow smoothly and easily. Style is quite flexible, as long as you remain true to yourself and your audience. A good tip when learning style is to read a variety of texts, so that you can understand how different authors present themselves. This will help you to choose the right tone for your own writing. For example, if you’ve always written in a very formal style, then you may want to experiment with a more relaxed approach, when pitching or presenting your work. Alternatively, if you’re writing for children, then a fun and child-friendly tone may be appropriate.
Pitching
So you’ve decided to take the leap and try your hand at writing. Congrats! Your first step towards becoming a professional is to learn how to pitch your work. While there is no specific formula for pitching, there are some tried-and-tested techniques that can help you to succeed. One of the best things you can do for yourself, as a new writer, is to learn to pitch your work. Doing this will allow you to connect with an agent or manager, who may then be able to secure you professional contracts. To succeed at pitching, you need to learn to think like a publisher. You must be able to see the book that you’ve written from a publisher’s perspective. This means that you should learn to create brief, yet comprehensive, pitches, which will help you to secure representation. Before you begin pitching, it’s a good idea to read some exemplary pitches. You can also visit writing blogs and gain inspiration from other writers’ pitches. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll be able to use this tool to its fullest. Pitching is all about finding that sweet spot where you’re able to capture the attention of a literary agent or manager.
Editing
Once you’ve got your book ready, it’s a good idea to go through it carefully and edit it. Take your time and make sure that every page of your book is perfect. If you’re using a beta or final copy, then spellcheck and grammarcheck are your best friends. However, if you’ve edited every page by hand, then go through it again and re-check for any errors. Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to publish and start making money. Publishing is another important step in the journey to becoming a professional writer. However, instead of focusing on the what, we’ll discuss the why for now. Why should you bother with publishing? Because having your work read can open so many doors for you. Many writers, who’ve gone on to become successful, published their first book(s) independently. This is often the case because they want to see how their work fares under their own scrutiny. Publishing is a great way to find out if your work is any good or if you’ve made any mistakes. Through publishing, you can also gauge how well your work is selling and what kind of audience you’re addressing. You don’t necessarily need to publish, to be considered a writer. However, if you don’t want to take the risk of publishing your work independently, then joining a publishing house may be a good idea. Working with a literary agent, who will take care of all the technicalities of publishing, may also be a good idea. Having representation allows you to be more daring with your work. It means you don’t have to listen to anyone but yourself, when it comes down to what you want to write and how you want to write it. This may also be the case when negotiating your contract or deciding which book to go ahead with. Having representation also means you can take more time and care in preparing your work for publication. An agent can give you some much-needed peace of mind, so you can focus on what’s important to you.
As you can see, there’s a lot to learn from writing. Not only do you get to practice your craft, but you can also build a brand for yourself, which may one day lead to lucrative careers. So, if writing is something that interests you, then go for it. You may just find, that it’s not that tricky after all. Good luck out there.