I’ve been reading websites and blogs online for several years, especially blogs and sites created for writers. I couldn’t even try to look back and count how many I have read, how many I still follow or how many I find new. The numbers don’t really matter. Overall I have noticed one thing divides them all, one thing makes them have or have not. Real experience, really being published (online doing it yourself or being published with an online network just isn’t the same, it doesn’t give the same challenges).
Writers who have been published just know more, have that extra experience with the reality of writing. They have set goals, met them and moved on to new goals. Writers who have only been published online have a softer market, it’s easier to break into online writing when you can even set up your own publication and do it all yourself. Writing online, the main challenge is to find someone to read what you write. Writing in print the main challenge is to actually get written in print. To get the work finished, to get it written well by stricter standards than you will find online and to get it in print/ published. Then, you start to work on getting readers. It’s a longer haul and you don’t have the cushion of being online and being your own boss more or less.
So, this is my goal for 2012. I want to be published in print. Not a zine, I’ve done that. Not a magazine either. Although I have not done that I’m not as interested in magazine writing as a goal. I know I can write that type of content. I’ve been writing it for years online. I want more. I want to push myself, challenge myself to write a book and get it published. I’m not aiming too far over my own head. Just enough that I will be pleased with myself in the end and yet I don’t feel I’m setting myself up for a fall right from the start.
Wish me luck on crossing the great divide.
Word Grrls is my mad science experiment, my adventures with fame and world domination (politely). This is where I inspire people to create: invent mutations, cause change, bring colour into your world. Web writer since 1998. Find me on StumbleUpon , and Tumblr.
A pretty small post describing your goals. I liked it. Being said that I want to put some out of the box thinking (not to sound offensive though)
About the published writers: I believe they DON’T know more but they are marketed well by their agents (because they can afford them).
Those who don’t have the luxury of agents or not able to publish (through a publishing house) They SELF PUBLISH it and then MARKET it extensively. some books like ‘The Wealthy Barber’ and ‘Eragon’ by Christopher Paolini werse self published before finding a publisher.
The key in my opinion is Marketing the product.
I agree, marketing is a big deal for print writers too.
But, for web writers versus print writers there is a divide in experience. You can self publish yourself online. You can be a writer for free (once you actually get online with an ISP). But, there are more steps involved if you want to get your writing in print, on actual paper somewhere.
I know writers have found publishers without having an agent. It’s all sales, marketing and promotion. They have a different learning curve from web writing and publishing. The web writers need to learn skills like HTML, but even for that, you can start a Blogger site and have your writing online in a few minutes. I know because I’ve done it. I have not done (other than my experience with a zine) print publishing. So far I’m still behind where I hoped to be with that. I just have too much to do overall and it is swamping me, making me stagnate in the areas I wanted to have new growth. But, it is all a work in progress!
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