You're Not An Artiste, You're a Salesman!
Guess what? You're going to have to take off that smock and get to selling.
Coming into this game, you may have some lofty goals of the artist's way, and, in fact, books like Bird By Bird and the like, while valuable, only represent one side of the story. Sure, there are some days when I take an afternoon in a hammock writing long hand, but there are more days when I'm on the phone poking editors or grueling over pitch letters on my laptop. As a writer, you are selling yourself and/or your writing, and you are doing it everyday, day in and day out. Here are some things you are constantly selling:
- Your ideas via pitches.
- Yourself, your experience and your track record to potential biz tech clients.
- Past experiences and future projects through grant opportunities and scholarship competitions.
- Your position and take on things to editors who are shaping your work.
- Your career path to friends at social events.
- Your experiences and tips via your blog.
- Your image and brand on your website.
- Your pricing structure and time proposal through bids.
- Your personality and charisma at business events.
- Your brand, personality and image at writer's conferences.
I know that many writers prefer the solitary nature of the career. Sometimes I do, too. But you're going to need to cultivate these extrovert's skills in order to be successful, too. Think about it as your dual personality.
Ok, you can put your smock back on now.
This is so true. Absolutely and undeliably true. I had a moderately successful career as a freelance writer of technical articles and it was true then. These days I write only fiction and it is just as true now.
But, oh, isn’t it sad?
It’s so weird, because as a jewellery designer I was terrible at selling my work. As a writer, I am much more confident. I like the ‘take it or leave it’ approach of pitching. I know if I have done my best and am proud of it, but I also know that every piece isn’t going to be right for every market, all the time. A lot of rejections aren’t reflections on the work, but can help to build a better idea of what a publication wants, and when they want it.