Positive Press

What a successful writer is up against

I was talking with a friend at church the other day, and he did not operate in the writing space but offered to beta read for me, based on church writings he had critiqued, and I was delighted to find another reader to provide free and potentially helpful input.

When asked if I was published, I showed him my website on Amazon, and it is possible that he was impressed.

I then told him of my difficulties being a successful writer, particularly a self-published one, and will list them briefly in the below bullets:

• A writer must have some competency with language, style, theme, grammar and technique, or no one will want to read their work
• Those who pen books must produce handsome efforts, utilizing good graphics, photos and illustrations, should they lack a traditional publishing house to support them, otherwise, their work will not be taken as seriously
• The author must have a sense of their audience, so that they produce work that is interesting to them, but also to a fair number of others.
• The book must be marketed effectively, or no one will know it exists

If you’re a writer like me, and want to comment below on your struggles and concerns, please do so.