THE 12 MOST COMMON OBSTACLES

TO WRITING SUCCESS

How to Recognize – and Overcome -- the

Hurdles that can Hinder Your Writing Career

By Roscoe Barnes III

http://filbertpublishing.com/hustler.htm

A young woman told me recently that she wanted to be an author and would like to boost her income by writing articles for magazines. She’d been waiting to do this for a long time but had never started. Puzzled, I asked when she would begin.

“Begin?” she asked, a bit surprised at my question. “Not sure.”

She explained her hesitation.

“I didn’t think I would make it, given all the work that’s required,” she said. “So I thought I’d wait until the right time. After all, I work a full-time job and have kids to look after. It simply required more than I could afford to give.”

That scenario is not uncommon. It illustrates one of many obstacles that people face when contemplating a career in writing. Truth be told, the road to literary success is anything but easy; it is loaded with all sorts of hurdles. Although some people get lucky and hit it big on the first time out, that’s an exception and no where near the norm. For the average person who wants to make it as a writer, he or she must come to grips with the fact that only the strong survive. Yes, the road is sometimes hard, frustrating and extremely disappointing; but it is the necessary route to making your writing dreams come true. The key is to recognize the hurdles and to go around them, through them – or over them – and keep driving ahead till you reach your goal.

To help prepare you for your journey, I’ve listed some of the most common obstacles that are faced by aspiring writers. Make note of them and work hard to overcome them. Only then will you discover what it means to be a writer.

1. Insincerity

This is a big hurdle. A common obstacle. Some people simply are not ready to be writers. They talk about it, but they are not serious enough to make it happen. They are indecisive and can never get around to making a decision to actually write. Many who do write do not approach it with the respect and sincerity it deserves. They seem oblivious to the fact that when it comes to writing success, nothing will take the place of writers’ putting their noses to the grindstone. “If you would like to write better than everybody else, you have to want to write better than everybody else,” said master writing teacher William Zinsser. “You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft.”

“By its very nature,” explained book editor Christopher L. Buono, “writing is a lonely profession, which demands constant dedication and discipline in order to do well.”

Buono, managing editor of Writers’ Journal Books, said the writing life is one that must be pursued almost ruthlessly – and no day must ever be missed. In the book, The Writers’ Journal Guide to the Writing Life (Perham, Mass.: Writers’ Journal Books, 2000), he states that writing must be taken seriously. “If not,” he said, “it becomes dangerous because then writers are only kidding themselves about becoming a part of a profession that they only have a velleity to join.”

2. Procrastination

Some people plan to be writers. They think about it and hope to one day see their byline in a newspaper, a magazine or on the cover of a book. Unfortunately, writing remains only a dream, something in the distant future that they never get around to doing.

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Not surprisingly, Noton said he’s “met some writers (that’s what they call themselves) who have been working on the same book for more than twenty years.”

3. Weak Writing

“Few people realize how badly they write,” said William K. Zinsser in On Writing Well (New York: HarperCollins, 1994). “Nobody has shown them how much excess or murkiness has crept into their style and how it obstructs what they are trying to say.” What may seem good to you or your relatives will not necessarily seem good to an editor. Poor writing is a sure sign of an amateur. It can only be improved with proper training, practice and a little sweat. “Getting thoughts on paper is relatively easy,” said Barbara Robidoux in an article for The Christian Communicator ( Sept. 2003), “but making them easy to read and understand is another matter.”

Editors don’t expect your work to be perfect; but they do expect it to be presented in a professional manner. In some cases, your work can be salvaged if you have a good idea and poor writing skills. But that’s a chance you don’t want to take. Aim for good writing with a great idea and you’ll be on your way. Suggestions for improving you craft are outlined in a later chapter.

4. Unoriginal Ideas

Editors want fresh material, writing that’s current, innovative, unique. They look for new ideas and intriguing thoughts. Nothing that’s trite or worn out. When you submit an idea that has been done to death -- and without a new twist or angle, the editors know you haven’t done your homework. Such a submission is a sure sign of sloppiness and is bound to hurt you.

Richard Sawyer touched on this issue in his advice to biographers. “The biographer manqué must become familiar with what has gone before so that he is not trapped into reinventing the wheel,” Sawyer said in How to Write Biographies and Company Histories (Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1989). “There is no sense in plowing ground which has been plowed and harrowed half-a-century before. If you’re going to be inventive, you must do something no one has done before.”

“But wait,” you say. “There’s nothing new under the sun.”

That’s true to an extent. Still, old things can be told in a new way. Old titles can be given a new twist. Old problems can be tackled with new solutions. Old concepts can be resurrected and presented to a new audience. Old articles published for one market can be republished to a different market. In other words, if you want original ideas bad enough, you can certainly find them.

According to marketing expert Jerry Welsh, you can’t find big or original ideas unless you’re actually looking for them. You also have to need them and insist upon them. “You’ve got to believe that big ideas are not merely nice to have but are the heart of our success,” Welsh said.

5. Suicidal Submissions

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6. Poor Credentials

Editors expect you to write with a voice of authority. If you write about science, you should have some type of background in that field. Either you have worked in the field or you have academic degrees to support your research. The same is true with any other field. Without the proper credentials, you must be able to prove you can do research on an adequate level. You will also need to show that you have contacts with the necessary credentials that will validate your work.

Good credentials, in the form of training and/or experience, are also needed to sell your services as a copywriter. Few people will risk paying top dollars to a writer with no experience. Some writers have the mistaken notion that books and courses on writing are all they need to succeed. They eventually find they also need training in marketing.

Just recently I read an online discussion board where a newly published novelist asked: “Can someone here tell me what a press release is?” At first I thought it was a joke, or perhaps a troll trying to make fun of something. Then I found, to my shock, the person was actually serious.

7. Poor Marketing Skills

The days of hermit writers are long gone. To achieve any level of success today, you have to step out of the cave and learn marketing and self-promotion. You have to toot your own horn and be willing to assist your publisher in promoting your work. “Today’s media business is a jungle, and there’s a war going on in it,” wrote Michael Sedge in Marketing Strategies for Writers (New York: Allworth Press, 1999). “If you intend to win the battle, you must become a marketing warrior.”

As I write this, I’m reminded of a close friend who wrote an excellent book about a painful experience in his life. Unfortunately, he hated the limelight and was afraid of media interviews. He shunned public speaking and dreaded book-signings. As a result, he found only modest sales of his book. I’m not suggesting you need an MBA, only that you will benefit greatly by learning to sell yourself to both your editor and to your readers.

“Many young writers are discouraged because of marketing, which is understandable,” said freelance writer Carol Kehlmeier. “Writing is fun; marketing is a drag. But in order to be published, marketing is essential.”

8. Lack of Self-confidence

“Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself,” said Christian Nestell Bovee. Nothing will benefit you in your writing like a good dose of self-confidence. When all has been said and done, it is faith in yourself that will move you closer to your goal. History is filled with examples of writers who were told to give up because they supposedly had no talent. Yet, those writers were so convinced about their own abilities – and the merits of their work -- that they persevered and proved the skeptics wrong.

Melvin Powers of Wilshire Book Company, has a good system for motivation. He encourages writers and business people to develop a reading program consisting of books on positive thinking. If you have a poor self-image or you have no faith in yourself, it may be worth your while to follow Powers’ method.

9. Fear of failure

If you are afraid of being rejected, that’s OK. If you fear taking a chance and falling flat on your bottom, that too, is OK. Fear is normal. But it should not prevent you from stepping out and doing what it takes to succeed as a writer. “One who fears failure limits his activities,” noted Henry Ford. “Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again.”

My late grandfather, McKinley Jackson, used to say, “If you mess up, don’t give up, cause that’s a learnin’ for ya.” He was right. And even if you do fail, that should not discourage you from moving ahead. “Failure shouldn’t stop your drive to succeed,” wrote Al Neuharth. “How you respond to failure makes all the difference.”

10. Lack of Determination

Some writers make a good start and even have a few things published. But when they have a series of rejection following that, they give up. Others never get past the second or third rejection before they throw in the towel. Somehow they assumed that success would happen overnight and they would live happily ever after. In reality, you can find success – and live the good life – but only after you’ve learned to endure.

Like self-confidence, determination is an essential ingredient for a prosperous writing career. It’s a virtue that motivates you to keep plugging away until you reach your destination. Determination is to a writer what gasoline is to a car -- the fuel that keeps your engine running.

Millionaire copywriter Joseph Sugarman, the guy who brought us BluBlocker sunglasses and a host of handy mechanical gadgets, says that one of the overriding reasons for his success has been his determination. “I never gave up until I had no choice,” he wrote in Success Forces (Chicago, Ill.: Contemporary Books, 1989). “Call it persistence, ego – but I never felt right unless I had given it everything I had.”

Sugarman, who created a number of successful companies with the power of his pen, said he was a fighter -- “not with fists and gloves, but with ideas, effort and persistence.”

11. Comfort Zone

Some writers are shocked to find that writing is not easy. They are disappointed to learn that writing requires time and commitment. They are angered by the fact that while writing can have its high moments, it can also be very depressing. Even so, those who make it are the ones who step out of their comfort zone. In other words, you have to be daring and willing to take risks. Be bold enough to try different forms, different magazines or different newspapers.

Simply put: You have to rid yourself of contentment. Never be satisfied with the status quo. Always reach for the next rung on the literary ladder. And remember this thought from Oscar Wilde: “Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or nation.”

12. Misconceptions of the Writing Life

Contrary to some of the glamorous images we see in the movies, writing success requires sacrifice and time spent learning the craft. It goes without saying that writers must pay their dues. They must be willing to start small, possibly even writing for free, until they can grow and move up to the big time. In some cases this means getting your first bylines at the local community newspaper or in the church newsletter. It might mean working on the college paper or volunteering for the local animal shelter. Either way, you have to start somewhere.

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The importance of dedication, whether it’s for writing or any other worthy cause, is underscored in Longfellow’s classic poem, “The Ladder of Saint Augustine.” It reads:

The heights by great men reached and kept

Were not attained by sudden flight,

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.

Now you know the 12 most common obstacles you will likely face. Now it’s time to develop and follow a plan that will help you on your journey. As you move ahead, lay aside your reluctance and bury your reserve. And do not be ashamed of ignorance. “Seize every opportunity to learn,” advises Norman B. Rohrer. “Let it be said that you gave it your best.”

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You just read an excerpt of Roscoe Barnes’ “Secrets of a Writing Hustler.”

Roscoe Barnes III is a nationally known copywriter who specializes in direct response marketing for non-profit organizations. When he isn’t busy writing copy for contributions, he writes direct mail packages and publicity copy for consumer and business-to-business markets. He also works as a publicity consultant. Pick up “Secrets of a Writing Hustler” here: http://filbertpublishing.com/hustler.htm