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What Does It Take to Be a Full-Time Writer?
Last month, an upcoming college freshman interviewed me about how to become a full-time writer. While I can’t speak for every writer, I shared the following tips with him, which I believe have contributed to my ability to work for so many years in a profession I love.
Have You “Scottified” Your Manuscript?
I’m currently ghostwriting and incorporating my client’s themes into his book. He’s an academic heavyweight with years of business experience, something I point out to explain that he’s not lacking in IQ points or business acumen. However, he reached out to us, because he knows that writing is not something he claims as his strong suit.
Early in our work together, I’d send him a draft of a chapter, and then he’d expound on his concepts where I didn’t have enough depth. (Note: When ghostwriting for a subject-matter expert, the expert will always know more than the writer.) In a recent chapter, knowing that he’d written his notes in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, he added a final comment:
“Please Scottify.”ary-goes-here
Put the Pen Down: When to Get Away
A professor in college once told my Soviet studies class, “Sometimes you have to go away to get close.” I can’t remember the reference, but the meaning behind the quote stuck to me permanently.
Writing can provide great therapy. It’s often an effective negotiation tool. It’s a means of making a living for many. For others, it’s a way to build a legacy or document a story. But there are times when putting the pen down for a while is the healthiest—and even most productive—choice. Here are a few of those times.
Author Cyndi Francois: “I Wanted People Going through Rock Bottom to Know They Are Not Alone”
Please enjoy this Q&A about the writing process with memoir author Cynthia Francois.
SPIRITUS BOOKS: Tell us a little about your book and why you wrote it.
At first, writing my story, Traveling through Grief: Life, Death, and Ten Months in a Tent, was just a way to process unbearable emotions and events surrounding my new husband’s sudden death. I felt like I could no longer hold onto the weight of it all, and as a professional marketing copywriter, I write and simplify to make sense of all things—whether it be the sudden death of my husband, or to promote an interactive flat panel display to educators in schools around the globe.
I wrote a blog in the aftermath of his death and continued to journal during a road trip through the U.S. national parks. I used those existing writings to outline and format my manuscript, which follows me through living on the road while in survival mode after I lost everything. Over time, I thought my story could help other young widows experiencing similar life changes.
When Reality Is Fading, Write in Vivid Color
What is real?
With AI infiltrating everything we do, and politics convincing us that hatred and vindication are desirable traits, and change coming at a pace that induces whiplash, reality becomes hard to distinguish. At best, reality is blurry—and blurring.
Does it matter?
Business Book Author McKenna Sweazey: Be Generous About Timelines
SPIRITUS BOOKS: Tell us a little about your book, How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely, and why you wrote it.
MCKENNA SWEAZEY: I’d been batting around an idea of an empathy-based leadership book for a while, and when the pandemic hit, I suddenly had both some extra time to do it and a renewed focus on why empathy is really important in digital interactions.
Seven Down-and-Dirty Tips to Transform Your Writing
As a book editor, I spend much of my time in “heavy lifting” work—assessing a manuscript for overall flow, shoring up gaps, and ensuring clarity and consistency. But the rest of my effort goes toward sentence-level changes that will impact the reader’s understanding and experience. A few are so easily accessible that anyone can apply them. I’ll share seven of those with you now. Applying them can elevate your writing, and even help you make better use of the time and money you spend on editing.
Author Beth Jones: Remaining Hopeful Is How We Sustain Our Journey
Please enjoy this Q&A about the book writing process with memoir author Beth Jones.
My book is Becoming an Empowered Survivor, You, Too, Can Heal from Trauma and Abuse, in which I share my story about my healing journey, told through my acronym for HEAL, which means to hope, evolve, and love. In the book, I share my experience with each of these actions. I wrote the book to crystallize my message to other survivors of trauma and abuse, following the subtitle of the book, that they, too, can heal.
Author Jorja Jamison: “We Must Be Active in Healing Ourselves in Conjunction to Healing Others”
Please enjoy this Q&A about the book writing process with addiction recovery memoir author Jorja Jamison, PhD, LP.
JORJA JAMISON, PHD, LP: When I was training in my doctoral program in psychology, I loved getting to present at conferences. But there were usually not a lot of people who attended conference sessions, even at very large conferences. My advisor once encouraged me to write, saying that I could reach a lot more people through my writing than my conference presentations. She was referring to publishing in academic journals. I never found that pathway fulfilling, but her words always stayed with me.
The Publishing Crossroads: Is Self-Publishing or Traditional the Path for You?
Demystifying the book publishing industry is a bit like changing the tires on a moving car. It’s adapting quickly, and unless you’re paying close attention and have industry experience, it’s easy to feel “run over” by all the options.
This post will attempt to demystify the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing.
Author Gary Laney: “A Book Needs to Invoke a Feeling of Building Something”
Please enjoy this Q&A about the book writing process with leadership author Gary C. Laney.
SPIRITUS BOOKS: Tell us a little about your book and why you wrote it.
GARY C. LANEY: Become a Super Leader instructs leaders and emerging leaders how to identify and develop skillsets they need in order to maximize their performance at a proficient level. It also addresses the importance of identifying one competency in which they may possess a natural ability; this can potentially become their superpower as a leader and later a legacy they can leave behind.
Author Jenny Lisk: “Memoir Is an Act of Service”
Please enjoy this Q&A about the book writing process with memoir author Jenny Lisk.
JENNY LISK: My first book is a memoir, Future Widow: Losing My Husband, Saving My Family, and Finding My Voice. It’s an account of losing my husband, Dennis, to brain cancer when our kids were nine and eleven, and then trying to figure out how the rest of us would carry on. I know from experience that widowed parents feel lost and alone, so if my story could help some of them, I really wanted to write it.