With the rise of Notes on Substack I’ve also been seeing the rise of a certain type of writing advice essay that is, frankly, toxic. It tends to characterize smaller, less-visible accounts as “amateur” and “not hard-working” and holds out the false hope that if you work hard enough, you will succeed in writing. That if you are not succeeding, your writing isn’t good enough or you aren’t working hard enough to promote yourself.
Well, Joyce, this 65 year old man is standing right beside you. Life gives us a shit-kicking and we keep on ticking. You've been way more successful that I have...but that's on me. I may have screwed around a bit in my 20's, and then worked to help raise a family, gone through strikes, and a fire, and all that other shit that comes along, but never gave up writing. And they say I haven't worked hard enough? I've been writing for 50 years. I don't know, I think I may have actually learned a few things along the way.
The idea that if you work hard enough you’ll earn a just reward is one of the worst perpetrated by modern American culture (maybe elsewhere too). It starts in school, when you are told that if you get good grades you’ll get into a good college - but I’ve learned as a parent and as a university employee that admissions is effectively a giant lottery for most high school grads. The same is true for any career path you want to embark on - just ask every content creator out there. Hustle only gets you so far. Everything else is a matter of luck. The only way to survive that truth is to focus on why you want to do the thing in the first place, whatever the thing may be. If we love spending your time on it, our so little precious time, then it’s with keeping at, regardless of what happens after
Yup yup. And as someone who has been traditionally published... bad luck can also happen. My editor left, the other one I knew at the house died... It was more than that, of course, because I was also struggling to be the next brightest idea instead of being me and my writing. Which is what I am doing here. For free.
What you said. EXACTLY! And this 54 year old writer agrees that if one puts family above their writing, a career in fiction is even harder to chase, let alone capture.
Goodness gracious I needed this, what an affirmation and a relief. I see a lot of my own life trajectory in yours (altho I haven't gotten quite so far in mine yet!), and I relate so much to the frustrating almosts of writing with ADHD. Thanks for this piece!
I'm just 6+ months into this Joyce and productivity, umh, for me, not so much! I'm more trying to follow my own rhythm. I have a day job where I check boxes in a timely way, but how I interact goes much farther.
You have already worked harder at life, with real people, having real challenges, so I feel you write from relevancy, which is your voice.
I’m very new here, in Substack, but not to writing or social media. I’m still getting my bearings in this particular place and figuring out how I want to interact with it, if I even want to start a Substack. I don’t think people are saying those with smaller accounts are amateurs. I think they are saying that some of them are less experienced and have not been writing as long and that is a factor. As a part time editor, I work with a lot of people who write for a year or two and wonder why they’re not making it pay, one way or another. I think the message is, don’t expect instant success, lots of followers, unless you have put in the time to develop your voice. As you know, as your essay supports, becoming a writer takes time, takes a long apprenticeship. The people who are successful here, who may have been recruited, put in the time long before that happened. And yes, some of it is timing, as you point out. But they are able to take advantage of the timing because of the years they put in simply because they write because they have to, as all of us here who are writers, do. Jeanine Ouellette’s recent essays on her Writing in the Dark Substack explains this really well. The bottom line I have learned, after a long career with varying amounts of success but very little money is to do the writing, for myself first, and then for others, because its who I am and what I need to do.
I didn't even bother to try. I write for a niche. I am no where close to mainstream. So much of publishing is fitting into the middle. Being a voice that is slightly above average so you can bring in the most money. It's not about being good. It's about serving the middle.
This is very educational as well as honest...it comes through in your writing. I find it a bit disheartening that you've been through the rigmarole of the publishing world, without much to show for it. But, somehow you leave me feeling inspired. Please keep sharing and if there is some way to support you further, let me know.
You also leave me feeling grateful for this space and for the people I have found on this platform over the last week. I wrote a piece on my feelings about dealing with that particular author. It's not all about writing, but I would love it if you could give it a read. I honestly look up to writers who have been doing it for as long as you have. Also, thanks for your time as an educator. I hope one day to find my way into the profession as well. But, I've got to take better care of myself first, before I feel confident enough to teach.
Well, Joyce, this 65 year old man is standing right beside you. Life gives us a shit-kicking and we keep on ticking. You've been way more successful that I have...but that's on me. I may have screwed around a bit in my 20's, and then worked to help raise a family, gone through strikes, and a fire, and all that other shit that comes along, but never gave up writing. And they say I haven't worked hard enough? I've been writing for 50 years. I don't know, I think I may have actually learned a few things along the way.
The idea that if you work hard enough you’ll earn a just reward is one of the worst perpetrated by modern American culture (maybe elsewhere too). It starts in school, when you are told that if you get good grades you’ll get into a good college - but I’ve learned as a parent and as a university employee that admissions is effectively a giant lottery for most high school grads. The same is true for any career path you want to embark on - just ask every content creator out there. Hustle only gets you so far. Everything else is a matter of luck. The only way to survive that truth is to focus on why you want to do the thing in the first place, whatever the thing may be. If we love spending your time on it, our so little precious time, then it’s with keeping at, regardless of what happens after
Yup yup. And as someone who has been traditionally published... bad luck can also happen. My editor left, the other one I knew at the house died... It was more than that, of course, because I was also struggling to be the next brightest idea instead of being me and my writing. Which is what I am doing here. For free.
What you said. EXACTLY! And this 54 year old writer agrees that if one puts family above their writing, a career in fiction is even harder to chase, let alone capture.
Goodness gracious I needed this, what an affirmation and a relief. I see a lot of my own life trajectory in yours (altho I haven't gotten quite so far in mine yet!), and I relate so much to the frustrating almosts of writing with ADHD. Thanks for this piece!
I'm just 6+ months into this Joyce and productivity, umh, for me, not so much! I'm more trying to follow my own rhythm. I have a day job where I check boxes in a timely way, but how I interact goes much farther.
You have already worked harder at life, with real people, having real challenges, so I feel you write from relevancy, which is your voice.
I’m very new here, in Substack, but not to writing or social media. I’m still getting my bearings in this particular place and figuring out how I want to interact with it, if I even want to start a Substack. I don’t think people are saying those with smaller accounts are amateurs. I think they are saying that some of them are less experienced and have not been writing as long and that is a factor. As a part time editor, I work with a lot of people who write for a year or two and wonder why they’re not making it pay, one way or another. I think the message is, don’t expect instant success, lots of followers, unless you have put in the time to develop your voice. As you know, as your essay supports, becoming a writer takes time, takes a long apprenticeship. The people who are successful here, who may have been recruited, put in the time long before that happened. And yes, some of it is timing, as you point out. But they are able to take advantage of the timing because of the years they put in simply because they write because they have to, as all of us here who are writers, do. Jeanine Ouellette’s recent essays on her Writing in the Dark Substack explains this really well. The bottom line I have learned, after a long career with varying amounts of success but very little money is to do the writing, for myself first, and then for others, because its who I am and what I need to do.
I didn't even bother to try. I write for a niche. I am no where close to mainstream. So much of publishing is fitting into the middle. Being a voice that is slightly above average so you can bring in the most money. It's not about being good. It's about serving the middle.
The case against hard work is the trash books that become bestsellers while good books go in the bin.
This is very educational as well as honest...it comes through in your writing. I find it a bit disheartening that you've been through the rigmarole of the publishing world, without much to show for it. But, somehow you leave me feeling inspired. Please keep sharing and if there is some way to support you further, let me know.
You also leave me feeling grateful for this space and for the people I have found on this platform over the last week. I wrote a piece on my feelings about dealing with that particular author. It's not all about writing, but I would love it if you could give it a read. I honestly look up to writers who have been doing it for as long as you have. Also, thanks for your time as an educator. I hope one day to find my way into the profession as well. But, I've got to take better care of myself first, before I feel confident enough to teach.