The best writers don’t just write — they constantly share what they know and what they’ve learned. Take Seinfeldia author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, for example, whose blog is a gold mine for aspiring and professional writers alike. Here, we’ve compiled bits of Jennifer’s advice on the craft and business of writing.
While researching for her upcoming book on Sex and the City, Jennifer interviewed Candace Bushnell, author of the series. She was inspired by Candace’s thoughts on point of view — that to be a writer, you need to have your own take.
If you find yourself with “writer’s block,” ask yourself: Why am I here? What am I trying to say? Presumably there’s something; if not, go do something constructive like cooking dinner or going for a run.
Inspired by novelist Michael Grothaus’ journey of quitting his six-figure tech job to write a book, Jennifer comments on the risks that professional writers take every day:
I love my freelance writer life and the control it gives me over my days . . . . But walking away from a steady paycheck is a risk. Writing something and just hoping someone will pay you for it someday is a risk. Writing something and publishing it is a risk, and neither the comments sections nor the critics will let you forget it.
Real writers’ main job requirement isn’t writing. To get to the writing, and to get it out there, they must take constant risks.
In a post about the freelance life, payment, and exposure, Jennifer urges that we need to pay skilled people in money:
As a freelance writer, I get my share of sneaky requests for me to do stuff for free. Some of these make sense: appear on a podcast I admire to promote a recent piece I wrote and my upcoming book, help a talented friend with a promising book proposal. Now, I’m not saying everything I do must include some clear payoff for me and only me. I’m not even saying that you can’t ask me to do something out of the goodness of my heart. But more than anyone else, freelancers in the arts must set boundaries.
“If you want to get paid for your writing,” she writes, “the marketing never ends.” Here, Jennifer talks about writers as marketers, and the constant need to get out there and promote your work:
Most of us just want to create, quietly, at our little computer screens. We don’t, and can’t, magically morph into salespeople. If you haven’t noticed, salespeople are often the personality inverse of many writers. Writing requires a kind of intense introversion: observing, quietly typing and retyping. Sales requires a kind of extroversion: talking to others to get them to see things your way, then hand over some money. We want to stay in our artiste bubble. We know our ideas are good. Why do we need to sell them to other people?
We don’t, unless we want to make money. That’s something many of us do want to do.
Read more tips and insights on writing on her blog:
Very useful… Loved it.
LikeLiked by 12 people
I love that, the best writers don’t write, they con and they learn. SO encouraging! The more you read the better you write.
LikeLiked by 10 people
Rightly written… Loved it!
LikeLiked by 9 people
Don’t stop sharing!
LikeLiked by 8 people
Great Post.
LikeLiked by 8 people
Very apt.
LikeLiked by 8 people
Great post. Lovely , keep sharing
LikeLiked by 6 people
Great post. Lovely , keep sharing.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Cool. Impressive
LikeLiked by 6 people
Did you make the photo aesthetic for this post? I love it!! And yes, promotion is almost more of the work than the writing itself!
LikeLiked by 8 people
The featured image is based on a photo from Pexels, a CC0 (copyright-free) image library — you can find the original file here: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-black-laptop-computer-38892/
LikeLiked by 8 people
fantastic – I want to read more!!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Really enjoyed reading your point of view on the life of a writer. This article definitely encouraged me to embrace the scariness and uncertainty!
LikeLiked by 7 people
I’ve been looking around for some good writing tips 🙂 thanks!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Really helpful advice!
LikeLiked by 7 people
Great post! So much of this really rings true – I wish I could morph into a sales person a little more easily!
LikeLiked by 7 people
Great post!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Thank you for your post! I’m sure it’s going to help me put in the near future! It was really encouraging and informational, and as a new blogger, I needed some advice!
LikeLiked by 7 people
Thank you for sharing. The idea that writing is not just writing, but it is transmitting information, is an important one. In fact, I cannot imagine a writer could go very far by just writing, as he or she would not have the time to learn and experience things to write about.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Really informative!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Great article. Very resourceful.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Love that last tip!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Thank you! I really needed this!!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Perfect! True about writers not being sales people!
LikeLiked by 7 people
…wanting to writes quietly on their computers 🙂
LikeLiked by 6 people
Informative and Inspirational!
LikeLiked by 7 people
A helpful article. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 7 people
Very specific and detailed information to keep in the file cabinet
LikeLiked by 6 people
These are some very good tips!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Great pieces of advice!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Excellent advice. Thanks for sharing it with your readers.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Irtka is right. this article is very helpful. thank you for sharing!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Thank you! really interesting
LikeLiked by 5 people
Thanks, I take the point about writers being sales persons. something I need to do more.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Thank you for the tips! Especially always ask ourselves “Why am I writing this?”, “What do I want to say?”
LikeLiked by 7 people
I’m very interested in blogs like these. This is very informative and really digging this articleThank you so much, it really showed me many sides of writing through a professionals eyes.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Really helpful article 🙂 thanks!
LikeLiked by 7 people
Lovely, I would translate part of this interview in my blog, ok?
LikeLiked by 7 people
As long as you give proper attribution and link to the original post, feel free to translate!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Of course! Done!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Thank you for the article. It is nice to hear from writers, their experience and advice!
LikeLiked by 6 people
Powerful, thank you.
LikeLiked by 5 people
This is an excellent and inspiring article. It’s refreshing to hear a writer’s perspective!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Great ideas, a small amount of courage can get you to take risks that you’ve always dreamed of.
LikeLiked by 7 people
Great advice!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Very helpful. Thanks a lot 🙂
LikeLiked by 5 people
Love this😀
LikeLiked by 5 people
So much to take away from this. I will have to read it a couple of times over. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 6 people
Thanks for this. Just started my blog, I appreciate any feedback!
LikeLiked by 5 people
Believe me I am not being sarcastic. Your advise is perfect. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Great post, thank you for sharing! I have a few photographer friends who have the same problem of being asked to work for free! It sounds like her advice is good- stay firm and set boundaries 🙂
LikeLiked by 5 people
I really like the last quote especially because it’s so true. Writers and Sales people could not be more different. So, it really takes a big step out of the comfort zone to promote work. I wish there was an easier way! Social Media is making that slightly easier…
LikeLiked by 6 people
Great read…thank you for sharing! It gave a lot of ideas on how to go about expressing my thoughts for my readers.
LikeLiked by 5 people
Thank you for this post. Really needed to read something like this.
LikeLiked by 5 people