How to Plan to Become a Writer

We learn to write by writing.

There is no such thing as a native writer of a language. People are native speakers, but no one is a native writer. You learn to speak by hearing the language spoken. You learn to write by assiduously studying the language and writing compositions in school. To become a writer, you must gain mastery of the language and its grammar and have a substantial vocabulary and the ability to spell the words correctly. You must also be very familiar with its syntax.

Instructions

1. Enroll in composition classes at a nearby college, or enroll in an online course. You will benefit from having a professor of English correct your compositions. Read the notes he makes on your compositions to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Take an advanced composition course when you have completed the beginning course.

2. 

   Learn to write by reading what others have written.

   Read insatiably. If you are interested in creative writing, read novels. If you want to be a poet, read the great poets and learn how poetry is composed. If you want to write discursive prose, read as much as you can in the disciplines that attract you. If you read a lot, eventually you will discover the genre that suits your writing style.

3. 

   Write continually.

   Write every day. Constant practice makes for perfect compositions. Start a blog, or keep a diary of your thoughts. Jot down ideas that come to you. Make a list of topics that you might like to explore with your writing. If you make it a practice to write every day at the same time, it will become a habit, and you will find it easier to write on the days you do not feel inspired.

4. Join a writers' group, and benefit from the interaction with others who enjoy writing. Let other writers read what you have written, and read their literary productions in return. By helping others improve their writing, you will also help yourself by learning from the mistakes others make and avoiding them in your writing.

5. Prepare your manuscript carefully, following the guidelines of each publisher, and submit it for editorial consideration. Consult "Writer's Market" for thousands of editors who are looking for material to publish. "Writer's Market" offers information about where you can publish a book, an article or even verses for greeting cards. It also lists literary agents.

6. Consider self-publishing. Some of the world's most famous authors self-published their work, including Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. Many companies will publish your work for a reasonable amount of money, particularly if you follow a print-on-demand model that charges for specific quantities of books rather than larger lots.

Tips & Warnings

• It is not easy to become a successful writer. Many other professions are easier to break into than writing. Success requires persistence, determination and years of experience. If you are interested in creative fiction writing, write novels, because remuneration for short fiction is very poor. A novel should be approximately 100,000 words in length to be competitive.

• It is just about as hard to find a literary agent as it is an editor who will publish your work.

• Once you begin submitting your work for publication, you will receive rejections slips. Do not let them discourage you. Rather let them motivate you to do your best work.

• Book publishers are in business to make a profit. They have stables of successful authors whose books bring in the dollars. Producing a best seller costs the publisher vast sums of money for advertising. For these reasons, they are not always eager to publish untested authors.

References

• Copyblogger: 73 Ways to Become a Better Writer
• A.C.E. Writers: Writing for Profit
• Bookmarket: Self-Publishing Hall of Fame
• WritersMarket.com

Resources

• Purdue University: The OWL Online Writing Lab
• "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction"; William Zinsser; 2006
• "Grammatically Correct"; Anne Stilman; 2004
• "The Elements of Style, 4th ed."; William Strunk, E. B. White; 2000
• "Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing"; Claire Kehrwald Cook; 1985