Defining Your Writing Career
Today’s Indie Author Life post is featured on Pubslush! Here’s a sample:
People sometimes ask me, “What was the defining moment in your writing career when things really started taking off?”
First, I appreciate the use of the term “writing career” and not “writing hobby” (that’s not sarcasm). For the longest time, it felt like a hobby, and I treated it as one by assuming no one would ever read my work besides myself, and close friends.
Over time, I started thinking more like a businessperson. To begin, I created my own domain: sbethcaplin.com. I also narrowed down my “pitch” for people who ask what exactly what I do for a living. It’s not enough to simply say “writer,” as this is very general and non-specific. My response now is brief but to the point: “I’m an independent author of young adult fiction, memoir, and poetry. I write about difficult social issues such as abuse, feminism, and religion, with guides for book club discussion in the back.” When you know who your target audience is, you will know who best to direct your pitch. For me, that includes women’s groups and churches.
I’m more on my way to a “writing career” today than I was six months ago, but I don’t think there’s any one technique or particular moment when I suddenly went from hobby writing to Career Writing. I’ve asked other authors this question, and they mostly agree: a writing career happens over a series of publications, marketing decisions, and just plain shooting in the dark, hoping something works. If there was one foolproof method out there for authors to get noticed and make money, we’d all be using it. You can only keep trying new things and stick to something that works for you.
