Over my years as a writing teacher, I’ve met hundreds of students and taught dozens of classes on a wide range of topics. Yet in every single class, one thing has always been guaranteed: that at least one student will apologetically admit they’re not a “real” writer.
“I write for fun, but nothing serious,” they’ll explain, or: “I haven’t written anything other than in my journal in ages,” or: “trust me, no one would actually pay to read the stuff I write.”
When I hear things like this, it makes my blood boil - not because I’m mad at my (lovely) students, but because I hate that they’ve gotten the impression that there is a right and wrong way to be a writer. When in reality, the truth is simple:
If you write? You’re a writer. Boom. Done.
I understand my students’ hesitations. They assume that to be a “real” writer, you need to be published in big-name publications, or write full-time, or have a fancy website and a moody headshot featuring a turtleneck and tortoiseshell glasses, preferably taken under a tree. And it’s true, some writers check all these boxes! But plenty more—the vast majority—don’t. Most writers are just regular ‘ol people with busy lives and full-time jobs, who carve out 30 minutes here, an hour there, to type up some words living in their head. They might never have been published, or even know if they want to be. They just simply love to write, and take at least a little time to do it.
Not thinking of yourself as a “real” writer is an easy way to sabotage your own success. If you don’t take yourself and your work seriously—because writing is work, let’s make that clear—then no one else will. Why set yourself up for failure, when all it’d take to believe you can win is a simple mindset shift?
As a teacher, it’s my goal to make sure that all my students think of themselves as writers whose voices can, and should, be heard. Which is why, in my new four-week course From Pitch to Publish, I’m going to help each and every student set up writing routines, send strong pitches, and edit their own work so that they can feel 100% confident about their abilities as a writer. It doesn’t matter to me if they’ve been published before, if they have websites and headshots, or even if they write on a regular basis. If they write at all, they’re a writer. Case closed.
Come join me in the course, which starts in late September. (If you sign up before 9/1, you get a $50 discount.)
I know you’re a writer - you just need to believe it, too.