Although I’d always dabbled in writing, I first became “serious” about writing during my undergraduate degree. I finished the first draft of my first book around Christmas of my first year of university, and then, the following year, I started writing what would turn into a 180,000-word work of fanfiction. 

It was during spring break of my second year of university that I realized that writing was something I may want to pursue more seriously, when I was in the midst of writing this behemoth of a fanfic. I was really enjoying writing, and I was doing it almost obsessively. To add fuel to that fire, I was studying music but realizing that I no longer enjoyed performing. My creativity was moving in a different direction that seemed to suit my personality better. Also, my fanfic was received unexpectedly well, and as people read and enjoyed my work, I first had the thought that maybe I’d find people who would enjoy my original work, too, and I could make this work.

If I could go back and talk to Laura from seven years ago, I’d definitely have some advice to give her!

1. Writing is so much more than writing.

Bad news. Writing the first draft seems like a huge task when you’re new to writing, but the truth is that draft one is a walk in the park compared to what follows. Enjoy planning and the first draft of exploration, because with each draft, things will only get more difficult! Once you finish the actual book, you’ll have to face even more difficulties: query letters, rejection, and attempts to find your audience. Which brings me to point two:

2. You’ll have to put yourself out there.

You mean I can’t just hide away and type? I have to actually market my book once I finish it?

Sadly, yes. If you’re like me and you’re a bit of an introvert, this may be the most difficult part. It involves facing all sorts of insecurities with each social media post and finding new and creative ways to frame your work to find your audience. It’s a ton of work, and sometimes it has little reward. But…

3. You’re playing the long game.

No part of writing is fast. There’s a lot of waiting and a lot of agonizing over different aspects of your book. I’ve heard that the process of finding an agent and publisher can take literal years, and writing/revising books can take years as well. It’s important to remember that if you write, you really have to write for the love of it. You’ll face a lot of rejection and struggle to maintain faith in yourself and your work, but it’s important to remember that this isn’t a fast process at all. If you’re doing this as a get-rich-quick scheme, you are out of luck. You will probably not get rich, and it will definitely not be quick.

4. You’ll have good days and bad days.

Sometimes the words flow. Sometimes it’s a struggle. 

You’re still a writer when you have bad days.

5. If you love it, it’s worth it.

You’re going to have days when the self-doubt is very strong, and it’s always important to return to why you write in the first place. It’s because you love it! If you don’t love writing, you’re not going to be able to withstand the waiting periods and the doubt and the rejection.

6. You have to find your audience.

No one is going to do it for you. I’ve heard that even in traditional publishing, authors have to do a lot of self-promotion. If you’re self-publishing, you’re going to have to work even harder at this. Your work is not going to naturally fall into the laps of your readers; you have to put in the work to find those people.

7. Every book is a learning process.

In literally every new project you start, you’re going to have the same crisis: Can I really write a book? Was the last one just a fluke? 

You’re going to have to re-teach yourself how to write a book every time. The process gets easier, and you’ll learn more each time to help you with your next project. But expect to have the same self-doubt with each book, and expect that…

8. You may have to give up on some books.

I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to give up on something that just isn’t working and start something new. The thing you gave up on isn’t going anywhere, and you can always try again with more experience under your belt.

9. It’s okay (and healthy) to take breaks.

You are still a writer if you take breaks. You don’t have to write every day. You do have to write regularly, but at least take an occasional weekend off. It’s fun to write a lot, but you will burn out, and if you don’t take the time to recharge, you’re going to hurt yourself. 

10. It’s good to have eggs outside of the writing basket.

Rejection will be easier if you have many goals and many things that matter in your life. Don’t make writing everything, no matter how important it is to you.

11. Not everyone will understand why you spend time on something when you’re not getting paid for it yet.

This is a painful truth about writing. Some people don’t understand that you generally have to work on writing for a long time before you see any financial return. Most people don’t publish their first book(s) because they’re just not good yet. Again, you have to remember that you do it for the love of it, and if eventually you’re paid for it, awesome. People won’t always understand doing something just out of passion, and that’s okay. You’ll stick to it anyway.

12. If you love it, you’ll keep coming back to it.

If you’re like me, you will want to give up on writing multiple times a year, to the point where your siblings are going to laugh when you tell them you’re going to give up this time, for real. However, if you really love writing, it’s something you can’t help doing. You may want to give up, but as much as I hate to tell you this, you’re not going to be able to.

If you’re a writer, what things do you wish you’d known before you started writing?