3 Basic Decisions Every New Writer Needs to Make

I don’t believe in luck.

I believe in faithfully, steadily paying your dues. You grow as a writer, that’s how it’s done, and one assignment leads to another.

Sorry, but there are rarely shortcuts.

Here’s the truth, which also happens to be great news for a new writer: After a few rejections, a few ego scrapings, someone’s going to publish something you’ve written. You might not make much money, but pretty soon you’ll hear from others: “You ought to interview my sister; she has a story,” or “My brother has a blog and, and he’s looking for this kind of story.” People will notice your writing.

If you are a young or emerging writer, don’t despise this season of beginning. Paying your dues is critical—it’s where the guts of your writing will emerge.

Decisions Every Beginning Writer Should Make 

Decide what matters to you. Regardless where you are in your writing journey, strive for the freedom to write about what really matters to you. Nothing compares with the reality of changing lives with your words.
Decide what you stand for. If you plan to make a life of writing, you must stand for something, have a carefully considered and lived-out worldview. The road will get rough. You will fight doubts. That’s why it’s critical to discover what can keep you in front of that keyboard day after day. If it’s money, fame, and power, you’ll find yourself quitting once you have achieved those — or once you’ve found you can’t achieve those. Write because you believe in something. I write because I believe God wants me to.
Decide on your priorities. I was recently asked, “What did you have to sacrifice for your writing career?” I had to think about that, because the rewards have far outweighed any sacrifices. But one thing I was not willing to give up was my family — time with my kids and my wife.

I’ve seen people do that. Until they have enough work or success to write full time, they work full time and write part time. Something has to give, and usually it’s the family. The writer sits behind a closed door, or a book, or a computer screen, in essence telling the family they rank lower than writing.

So what did I give up by relegating my freelance career to late nights? A little privacy. Some television. Some sleep. Was it worth it? You bet.

How can you rearrange your life to maximize the benefits to your family—and your career?

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