Tag Archives: Writing

Making Money Writing: The Tough Stuff

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What writer doesn’t want to be able to make money off their writing? Sure, we might all have other goals just in case our novels don’t make the New York Times bestseller list, but I think we can all admit that being able to write as our primary job would be a dream come true. Even if we can’t write as a primary job, though, writing can be a great way to make supplemental income.

Personally, I haven’t made a ton of money off of my writing, but I’ve been paid for six pieces of writing: a poem, two essays, and three fiction pieces. You can make money from writing contests, literary magazines and blogs that pay to publish, writing commissions, and by self-publishing work and selling it somewhere online like Amazon. I’ve also, along with my paid writing jobs, done unpaid volunteer writing, like for this blog and also for newspapers.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few obstacles to being able to make money just writing, or even just volunteer writing–writing as a commitment, rather than just for fun, can be a struggle. Now, I don’t exactly have solutions to all of these problems, I just wanted to identify them so independent writers out there know that they’re not the only ones struggling, and maybe so they can put a name to obstacles that they couldn’t completely identify before.

So here are some of the obstacles, according to me and to my writer friend, KC:

“In addition to whatever obstacles there might be in different businesses, there is the fear of starting out…the insecurity that stops people from putting themselves out there,” KC told me. Writers can be very protective of and insecure about our work, and that insecurity can be so much worse when it comes down to sharing our writing with a large audience. I personally don’t really have this fear any more, and it’s probably because I’ve been publishing since I was fifteen. I think that maybe the only solution to the fear of putting yourself out there is to…well, practice putting yourself out there. Before you do that, however, it can be helpful to try to build up your confidence in your own writing. Trust in yourself to produce your best work is essential.

It can be hard to self-manage and commit to a project, especially if you’re writing independently and don’t have a publisher or agent watching over your project…and even when I have had someone guiding me, I’ve definitely, at least once, started writing my project the morning it was due.

To make money off of writing, you basically have to be your own business. It’s a good idea to have social media, like a Twitter or Tumblr or WordPress account, to advertise your writing or keep an online archive. Promotion is essential–being an independent writer requires a lot more skills than just writing.

Lastly, burnout is a serious issue. When you’re trying to write thousands of words a day every day for weeks, you get tired. I know just about every writer will tell you that you have to write every day. And I know I’m young, but I’ve been writing my whole life, and if there’s one thing that I’ve learned it’s that I can’t write every day. If I do that, I burn out, I start to hate my project, and I start to hate writing. For me, it’s important to take breaks and give my brain a rest. Sometimes a Saturday off, when I just go for a run, hang out with friends, get some sleep, and ignore my writing for twenty-four hours is exactly what I need to re-energize my project.

I hope this has helped, at least, let you know that you’re not alone out there in the big world of writing! Here’s a meme:

kermit writing meme

Writing under a Trump Presidency

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It has been two weeks since I last blogged. I had planned to write my blog last week immediately following the election, all cozied up in my room, content with the future of my country. I had planned to be comforted with the idea that with the election of Hillary Clinton, the glass ceiling had effectively been shattered, and that the opportunities for women leaders would be more plentiful than ever before. I had planned to talk about what this meant for my own future, and the sense of relief I felt for the fact that Trump had not been elected. Instead, the truly unexpected results of the election left my friends and I in a depressive state, unable to believe that the majority of our country had elected a man that blatantly espoused hate speech. Reflecting on this, the election is really not that surprising; however, the numerous articles that I had read for my politics class had assured me, on a statistical base, that he would not become President. I had reassured my friends with this information throughout the day, only to be proved wrong. As the results became definite, my friends and I wept for the future of the country. We had gone to a Hillary viewing party, and even brought champagne. It went unpopped.

In the days following the results, campus was more mournful than I had ever seen it been previously. Yet, students slowly got back to work, organizing and protesting and talking to professors about what we could do. I was lucky that the election occurred during a lull in my classes; I was able to take the time to have important conversations about what this election meant for my family, and loved ones in my own life.

If anything, this election has made me think that I have to plan things in the more short-term, and I should be ready to work twice as hard for what I want. It has made me ready to advocate against the deportation of individuals, as the possibility of Sanctuary Cities goes away. I have looked up modes of self-defense, as well as how to intervene if I see harassment going on. I’m most nervous to go home and to have unpleasant conversations with my family members, who voted Trump. The election has brought an unprecedented amount of personal strain in my own life, moreso than if a ‘typical’ republican candidate had been elected.

In terms of career development, the process of pursuing a writing career seems dismal, and pointless, in the wake of the results. After all, America just let one of the more inarticulate men I’ve ever seen become president- what’s the value in writing, if shouting will just get you what you want? I’m trying to not let this mindset overcome me, and will try to dedicate my writing skills towards fighting Trump, whatever that may look like. I hope that my politics major will be helpful on this front as well.

 

Writer’s Block and Other Mysteries of the Human Psyche

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Sometimes, we anticipate what’s going to happen in our lives, and yet, it often doesn’t end up work out the way we had planned. Not only is this true in life, but also in writing. Sometimes you start out writing an essay with a clear thesis or point in mind, but then, when you actually start writing, you find that you are pulled in a different direction. I find this to be very true and have figured out some ways to make it work in my favor, instead of against me.  

Just recently I wrote a paper for my history class where I intended to focus on the rhetoric used in historical documents from the suffrage movement. Once I started writing, I realized that my thoughts were creating a trail that moved away from this idea of rhetoric and instead, I found that I was focusing on the way that men were being depicted in these suffrage ads. At first, I was frustrated by this. I thought to myself, “I have a clear topic in mind. Why can’t I just stick with it?” Although this might be easier in retrospect, sometimes, a new topic reveals itself to you once you are actually writing. Here are my tips and comments on how you can keep yourself on topic, even if it means changing your topic.

When you get on a roll, you feel like you have magic fingers and the words just flow directly from your brain onto the page. Let this happen. Even if what you think you’re writing is complete gibberish, you will likely spit something out that you can end up using, or maybe bring up something new that can be used for a different topic.

On the other hand, sometimes, it feels like you can’t write a single word, even if your life depended on it. This is okay too. It happens to everyone at some point in their academic career.

Sometimes the best way to get around this issue is to write whatever pops into your head. Similar to the advice above, eventually, something will grab your attention, and you can pursue something there. Oftentimes, we get so bogged down with ideas we think we need to be writing about that we can’t let our minds be creative. But, just getting some ideas down will help to get your brain thinking about potential topics and move past the feeling of pressure you might have to stay on a particular topic.

If you don’t have to write about something extremely specific, think about the texts you’ve read in class. What’s intrigued you most about your discussions? What sort of questions has your professor flagged? What questions or comments have you been bringing to the table? This will help get your mind thinking about the key ideas your professor is likely to put into an essay prompt and will also get you thinking about the things you’re interested in, which also make the best topics.

Even if your topic seems restrictive, there is always wiggle room, so celebrate the fact that you’re not tied down to one topic, literally or figuratively.

Don’t worry. You got this!

 

Getting Involved is Actually Pretty Cool

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Hello again! While last week I recapped what I learned from my job this summer, this week I’m talking about how I plan to use all those tools that I gained from my job around campus. One of my main goals this year was to get more involved on campus, so I can plump my resumé, and also learn more useful skills. In my first few weeks here, I’ve gotten involved with activities that aren’t just useful, they’re things I really enjoy doing! This is kind of a shock to me, because getting involved wasn’t exactly something that was emphasized in my huge public high school. It was something that was done, sure, but only for college resumés- no one ever took things seriously. At the 5C’s, however, I’ve found that I actually really enjoy getting involved, because people genuinely care about what they’re doing, and doing it well. I’ve had great experiences so far. I loving the extra work just as much as Rihanna.

werk
            First off, I came to school early so I could be a Peer Mentor at Scripps. Peer Mentor training exposed me to a lot of great resources around campus, as well as ways that I could be a better ally within the Scripps community. I get to plan events for first year students as well, so for all the first years that may be reading this, we’re planning on going to the Pasadena farmer’s market on September 25! So come, and get all your fresh, organic, California food and snacks.

Second off, I joined The Student Life. I didn’t have the best time with my newspaper in high school, but TSL has a great staff that I’m really excited to get involved with. My first article is coming out this week, about Adidas Kicks. I feel a lot more comfortable working in a team environment after doing so this summer, and am really excited to write a lot of cool articles. Non-fiction writing is something that I really enjoy doing, and a skill that I plan to hone.

Third off (woah, there’s a third? Yes, there’s a third), I’m in the Humanities Institute. It’s basically a class that sounds really great on a resumé, where you get to have class with a bunch of well-established speakers. The topic this year is the War on Terror, and I love that it’s relevant to what I think will be one of my majors: Politics. We haven’t had any speakers in class yet, but from the literature we’ve read and the discussions we’ve had so far, I’m excited to see where the class will go in the future.

Besides all that, I’m still involved with the same activities I was last year. I often find myself worried about getting overwhelmed more than I actually am overwhelmed.

anxieties But as I’m writing this, I’m realizing it’s the last thing that I have to write tonight, and I still have time to do my reading, and go workout for a bit. I have really high hopes for this school year, and for the future in general. Being at Scripps, and around such great people, keeps me motivated and focused. I’m so happy to be back.

The Most Valuable Transferable Skill: Writing

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Through the very persistent prodding of my dad, I self-published a book of creative writing and illustrations during my first year in high school. I compiled about 5 years of personal and class work along with self-made drawings and photographs. Since the first finished product, my dad prompted me to start the next one. The sparse collection of works for the next manuscript continues to live on my laptop. It’s a hodgepodge of high school creative writing assignments, intimate reflections polished for public eyes, and formal attempts and technique practice. Although I have unfortunately neglected my creative projects, I am always writing (how many times can I mention thesis in this post?).  I will always be expected to write well throughout career and life.

The real goal is to look this cuddly when writing…

To me, writing remains one of the most valuable, transferable skills. In this semester alone, I have probably already written over 30 pages of material, and thesis isn’t even done yet (double majoring isn’t really that bad until thesis happens…)! More and more I realize that academic and creative writing share a similar, general purpose: to communicate. During the summer of 2014, as part of my summer research program at the University of Chicago, I participated in a course on “Academic and Professional Writing.”  It sounds dry and daunting, but believe me, never have I been more informed of the tiniest of adjustments that can make a huge adjustment in writing (the professor was a former lawyer, so she definitely knew a thing or two about manipulating rhetoric).

  1. Avoid nominalizations

The word nominalization itself is a nominalization, turning a verb, adjective, or adverb into a noun. You know what I’m talking about, those words ending in “-tion” that seem to sputter out at 2 AM on the keyboard, making it that bit closer to the final page requirement. Take this example:

  • The lack of editing of the committee’s statements was a failure of responsibility and resulted in ineffective communication.

Revise nominalizations:

  • Lacking editing, the committee’s statements were responsible for ineffective communication.

Wow are those even the same sentence?! The second sentence clearly designates a subject. There is something accountable, the committee’s statements, for the ineffective communication. Yes, there are still nominalizations (i.e. lacking editing), but this gerund form actually serves as an adjective (wow, grammar nerd alert)! Nominalizations might be lurking everywhere on your resume or personal statements. In writing that has tight format restrictions or limited word count, revise and remove nominalizations! Those suckers take up too much space from what you actually want to say!

2. Who is the doer of the action?

Like I mentioned above, writing is much more powerful if there is something or someone accountable for the actions of a sentence. This tip is tricky when it comes to academic writing. We avoid personal pronouns. Even in academic writing, the doer of the action can be clear (fun fact, the following sentence is from my thesis):

  • The formality of classical music culture focuses heavily on a live performance as an assessment of skill and level which effects levels of MPA.

There are two verbs here, focuses and effects. How can these two “actions” be streamlined?

  • Classical music culture focuses on live performances as skill and talent assessments, effecting musicians level of performance anxiety.

Now, it is clear that classical music culture is what focuses on live performance and performance anxiety. “The formality” served as another nominalization.

3. Get it all out, and then revise, revise, revise…

… and have multiple people look over it if you can. It is important to get the “bad first draft” out of the way and then to revise from there. If possible, have as many pairs of eyes look over your work. They are bound to catch something you haven’t and if they don’t understand what you’re saying, there’s a chance not many other people will either.

4. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

If you take anything away form this blog post, other than I need to edit my thesis still, take away this tip. When writing, always know your audience. I have heard this from so many of my mentors and professors in all types of fields. For instance, in a cover letter, an employer will know their company’s history, so you shouldn’t go into a long history about the place. But has this company shaped your opinion on a topic you learned in a class and you want to write about it for a final paper? That’s where the history should go, and how it has informed your understanding and opinion.

When you’re writing, a paper, a cover letter, an official statement, what is your process? How do you shape your personal voice while still maintaining content integrity? Whatever it is, I hope it comes with a constant vigilance for fixing typos and communicating the message to your reader!