READER TO WRITER
FROM READER TO WRITER
Every person has a story. A great number of people dream of becoming a published author. Plenty of people spend years writing and many get published. But only the top wordsmiths become NY Times Best Selling writers. Are you one of them?
From 2002-2004, I was the Purveyor of Pirate Supplies at 826 Valencia, a writing center for students ages 8-18, co-founded by Dave Eggers, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and founder of McSweeney’s and educator, Ninive Calegari. During my tenure there, I learned the ins and outs of publishing, met and worked with some superstar talent and learned that with patience and diligence, anyone can be a writer. There’s an entire wall of framed rejection letters of authors like Daniel Handler, Nick Hornby and Amy Tan.
I am personally mid-stride on my own writer’s journey but here’s what I’ve learned so far from other writers. Good luck!
ELEVEN STEPS TO BECOMING A WRITER
1. Write every day. When you first start writing, this habit can be hard to do. Some people set timers and some people schedule it on their calendars. I once heard a talk given by NY Times Bestselling author Ayelt Waldman who goes on a private solo retreat without her husband and kids so she can crank out books in 1-2 weeks. It’s incredible what she can do in such a short period of time, whereas her husband, literary virtuoso, Michael Chabon, writes diligently every day, like a job.
2. Join a writer’s group. Can you imagine a room with like minded individuals who aren’t talking but instead, writing silently together? I have a fond memory of the red velvet curtains and perfectly restored interiors and being part of the now defunct Red Room Society, which met every week in a gorgeous Victorian Mansion in Hayes Valley, San Francisco founded by CEO and Publisher of Astor & Lenox, Ivory Madison who eventually sold the company Wattpad, a global social storytelling community of 90+ million readers and writers.
3. Don’t edit while writing. I learned this incredible tip from writing coach, Janis Cooke Newman who taught classes at The Writers Grotto, a community of writers in San Francisco who collectively share office space together. We met for about 2 months weekly, sharing our writing from writing prompts and other exercises.
I distinctly remember reading a classmate’s work and thinking to myself, holy crap, this is gonna be huge, like Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. Fast forward a decade later to learn that my classmate Alka Joshi’s The Henna Artist, was picked by Reese’s bookclub in May 2020 and adapted for TV by Miramax starring Frieda Pinto and just got picked up by Netflix! I still get goosebumps thinking back to when she shared the beginnings of her very first pages! She was so good at letting the pages breathe and not tinkering while writing.
4. Join writer’s communities. Many writer’s hone their skills by going to writing conferences and festivals. I applied and got accepted to Squaw Valley Community of Writers, a week-long intensive in the High Sierras who has been supporting writers for over 50 years! My week there was both inspiring and depressing. The writers I met were incredibly encouraging whereas my one-to-one with an assigned literary agent told me to keep my day job but also praised my colorful writing style which she thought reminded her of Kurt Vonnegut. I’m pretty sure she didn’t actually read my submission. In any case, I met a bunch of folks who were festival junkies and residency veterans. I didn’t even know there was such a thing but I learned about Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the oldest conference in the USA held at Middlebury College, Tin House Residency, and Sun Valley Writers Conference. For a thorough directory of Writer’s Communities and Conferences, visit Association of Writers and Writer’s Programs: AWP Directory of Conferences or peruse this list from Beltway Poetry Quarterly for Residencies and Colonies which is searchable by global regions. It can’t hurt to be in a gorgeous setting to feel inspired, right?
5. Attend Literary Events. For many years when I lived in San Francisco, I looked forward to the Annual LitQuake festival founded by writers Jane Ganahl and Jack Boulware. It was a week’s worth of programming across the Bay Area culminating in LitCrawl where many people would pack into bookstores, bars, shops, galleries and laundromats in The Mission in SF to hear their favorite authors read from their latest books. My other favorite venues is City Arts and Lectures and also Pop Up Magazine, both amazing one-off events with writers and thought leaders and artists on-stage.
With CoVid, many of these gatherings have gone on-line instead, like The Writers Studio, Gotham Writers, and Writer’s Digest University.
6. Try Writers’ Programs.
I am a big fan of reading self-empowerment books and I really like the ones published by Hay House who publishes Louise Hay and Wayne Dyer. I was delighted to learn about their Hay House Writers Community. They have open enrollment only a few times a year but it’s a great pathway to figuring out your voice, what your elevator pitch is, how to develop your audience and finding an agent and publisher. It is more of an intro to publishing rather than super in-depth, but for the reasonable price tag, I’ve really enjoyed the process. My big takeaway from this program was figuring out what I wanted to write - I’m honestly still searching for it. They say that the more you dig, the more vulnerable you get and the more relatable you become and the closer you are to finding your audience.
For advanced degrees, there are incredible MFA programs at prestigious universities like UC Irvine, Iowa Writers’ Workshop or CCA.
7. READ, READ, READ. I was surprised to learn how imperative it is to read books that are like yours, or in your genre to better understand from the publisher’s point of view, what sells and from the editor’s point of view, what is unique. I had been closing my eyes, fearful of my idea being stolen or afraid that my ideas would be too similar to someone else’s writing. But truthfully, reading great writing improves your own. For book recommendations, head over to Goodreads to find your next favorite book. I follow One City One Book by San Francisco Public Library. You can find a local club near you by searching Reader’s Circle: Local Listings or follow the advice of the Perpetual Page Turner and go to local meet ups, libraries, bookshops or start your own.
8. EDIT, EDIT, EDIT. While I learned it’s important to NOT edit while writing, it IS important to edit after you’re done writing. And keep editing. One tip I learned from award winning author, Vendela Vida, is to read the last sentence of every paragraph and ask if it’s already been said and if so, is it thus necessary. I have a bad habit of saying the same thing multiple ways but it just ends up being confusing so this is something I’m working on. I also rely on the eyes of editors who also serve as de facto coaches. Their editing comments have really helped me learn how to get to the point but also use words that lift off the page. I’ve benefited greatly by working with Alison Bing who is a talented travel writer, art critic and also brand strategist, Elissa Bassist who is an editor at The Rumpus and professor at The New School and Holly Payne, a brilliant support coach who has helped many authors fine tune their craft and founder of Booxby.
It helps to use writing tools like Scrivner or Evernote to keep track of your edits and chapters. Here are the top 21 writing tools from Reedsy or this incredible round-up from Literature & Latte or The Write Practice
9. Start publishing short stories and essays. There are many ways to get published, as a guest editor or as a paid writer. Many publications operate on receiving submissions and others have in-house or contract writers they work with. For personal essays, submit your writing at Medium or Elephant Journal. When you get more confidence, start sending submissions out to Granta, Zyzzyva, The Paris Review, or search literary magazines and other types of magazines you already subscribe to. Or if you write non-fiction, search for magazines that publish your genre like Monocle for culture or Afar for travel and the top empowerment magazines from Life co Goals.
10. Learn the business of publishing. Many people spend years writing and then when they’re finished, they don’t understand that publishing is a different beast than writing. Publishing has really changed in the 21st century with so much being available online. Self-publishing used to be perceived as less prestigious but some might say now, that self-publishing is a great first step to getting a traditional publisher, especially if it establishes your relevance with a built-in audience. Having a following, whether via social media or published articles, shows that you’re in hot demand. Ultimately, that’s what a publisher wants to do, sell books.
If you don’t know how to publish a book or how to get published, there are many primers for that. Start with Poets and Writers, it’s chock full of info on writing contests and publication ideas to get your work out there. Read through Reedsy - a community and marketplace for writers, editors and literary professionals. How to find a Literary Agent by Master Class. After you’ve crafted your query, elevator pitch and synopsis, head over to the PW directory of agents. Bookmark The Writer - the oldest established publishing magazine solely about the craft of writing, in continuous operation since 1887 - they know a thing or two!
11. Enjoy the Process. I remember hearing a talk with Julie Orringer, Tom Barbash, and Andrew Sean Greer, they all said something remarkable, that when they’re writing novels, they really inhabit the characters, like really get into their being, what they’re thinking, eating, drinking, wearing, inhabiting. And when they’re done writing that novel, it’s like they’ve lost a friend. As a reader, when you read a novel that transports you, you’re totally invested, in another time and place. Of course, it makes sense that the writer is like a host, welcoming you into their world. And when you’re done reading, you’re changed. So when you sit down next, write what you’re heart wants to share with us, take us to that place, and let us be transformed through your words and experience.