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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life » Page 4

The Writing Life

Two Kinds of Writers in the World

By Bob Hostetleron April 11, 2018
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I often tell developing writers at conferences that there are two kinds of writers in the world: the “hobbyist” and the “professional.”

Yes, it’s an oversimplification. It’s shorthand. But I think it gets the point across.

Both the hobbyist and the professional may be good writers, even great. Both may often work hard. Both are valuable and worthy of admiration. Both may publish. But there is a key difference between them, a difference that either will profit from recognizing, acknowledging, and considering.

The difference? Hobbyists write whatever they want to write. Professionals write what others want to read.

It sounds elementary, I know. But I think it is a crucial distinction.

Sure, some writers do both. Me, for example. I started writing for my own enjoyment and entertainment, and I still do it, now and then. And there is occasionally some overlap between those two sides of my writing personality. But I don’t expect my “hobbyist” writing to suddenly or magically become publishable material. In fact, in more than thirty-five years of writing for publication, I can recall only a handful of hobbyist pieces that were later published—primarily because the starting points are different for hobbyists and professionals.

The hobbyist gets an idea. That’s often where hobbyist writing starts. “I think I’ll try this.” Or, “Wouldn’t it be fun to–?” Such starting points often lead somewhere interesting and even helpful. But the hobbyist is usually not thinking much further than that. There is no “reader” in his or her mind; there is only the writer. And that’s where the difference lies.

Professional writers have learned to ask themselves questions very early in the process of conceiving and writing something that the hobbyist seldom if ever considers. “Will anyone want to read what I’m about to write? And, if so, why?” “Who is asking this question?” “Is it a need people already feel? And know?” “Are they willing to spend the time or money to meet that need?” “What’s the right angle to take?” “Where is this reader found?” “Can I reach him or her there, or should I take another tack?” To some, such questions are instinctual, but others have learned to ask them through long (and often hard) experience.

For example, a friend once asked me to recommend a book for his fourteen-year-old son who, my friend said, didn’t seem to properly respect women (including his mother and sisters). I drew a blank, so I did a little research. Turns out, I could find no such book in the teen sections of several bookstores. So I thought, Maybe this is an opportunity. Maybe I should write that book. And then I hit a wall, called Reality. As I sat down to sketch out the book, I realized, no fourteen-year-old boys I knew would read a book about “respecting women,” even if Mom or Dad bought it for them. It’s not a felt need for them. So I never wrote that book. On the other hand, a book about “why are females so weird” and “how can I get them to notice me” could possibly touch on the issue of respect while meeting the boy’s felt need. But I also knew that figuring out the feminine psyche was too mystical and complex for a writer of my limited abilities, so I never wrote that book, either.

I say all that simply to try to illustrate how hobbyists and professionals approach the writing life differently. The hobbyist knows that writing is fun, therapeutic, and sometimes even helpful to others—even those outside the family. The professional, however, knows that every reader wants to know “what’s in it for me?” If I don’t answer that question early and convincingly, I may still write something magnificent, but it probably won’t get published.

 

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Category: Editing, Get Published, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Career, Get Published, The Writing Life, Writers

The Bottom Line – Get It Done, Well

By Dan Balowon April 10, 2018
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Writing books is a performance business. At the end of the day, week or whatever time period applies, an author produces something on a schedule. I know many people write without any firm deadline as they are just starting out writing for illumination and enjoyment, but honestly, I can’t imagine working without a deadline and not self-imposing one. I’ll intentionally place myself in a position …

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Category: Book Business, Career, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Career, Deadlines, The Writing Life

Books Change Lives

By Steve Laubeon April 9, 2018
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I have to let you read this story. An author recently wrote this to me: I’d like to share something with you that I’m not sure a lot of authors get to share. Two months ago, I noticed my novels on my youngest daughter’s nightstand and found her reading them every night. I didn’t want to scare her off from reading them by asking questions, so I just let her read. A couple …

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Category: Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Career, Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Thank You, Authors!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 5, 2018
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Steve Laube and I were discussing recent contracts and that conversation further underscored a thought that led me to write this post. Success is not about us, but about our authors. Thank you, Authors! For laboring over your books. Each day, you must sit in front of a blank white screen and fill it with words. Good words. Words that will touch, inspire, convict, and uplift. Thank you, Authors! …

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Category: The Writing LifeTag: Authors, Success, The Writing Life

Twenty-five Fantastic Quotes About Words and Writers

By Bob Hostetleron April 4, 2018
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A few weeks ago in this space I posted twenty-five rules for writers. There are more, of course, but as W. Somerset Maugham said, “no one knows what they are.” Seriously, folks, I’m just getting started. I asked friends on Twitter and Facebook to send me their favorite quotes about writers and writing—not necessarily rules, but something memorable and, maybe, inspirational. I enjoyed the …

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Category: Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Inspiration, Quotes, The Writing Life

Creative Boundaries

By Dan Balowon April 3, 2018
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Creative people usually don’t like being told what to create or what not to create. Similarly, explorers and researchers don’t like being told, “Don’t look there,” or “Explore over here.” By nature, they follow their training and instincts from place to place and thought to thought. As a writer, while the worst thing you could do is plagiarize someone else’ work, the worst thing someone else could …

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Category: Career, Communication, Creativity, Inspiration, PlatformTag: Career, Creativity, Faith, Inspiration, The Writing Life

25 Rules for Writers

By Bob Hostetleron March 14, 2018
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Yes, W. Somerset Maugham famously said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” But that hasn’t stopped many of the best and/or most famous writers in English from suggesting rules for both fiction and nonfiction. So here is a list of twenty-five of my favorite rules for writers, offered for your contemplation, consideration, and maybe even …

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Category: The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Rules, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

The Minimum Wage Author

By Dan Balowon March 13, 2018
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Most authors earn less than legal minimum wage writing books. Most do so for their entire writing careers. (U.S. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. A full time person working 40 hours per week would earn an annual revenue of $15,000 at that rate.) In fact, they work for free for a long time before getting paid and once they do get paid, the amount earned almost never makes up for the long …

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Category: Economics, Money, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Money, The Writing Life

It’s Not What You Know; It’s Who You Know

By Bob Hostetleron March 7, 2018
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It is usually said by someone who is not progressing as quickly as they would like in their career. It applies to writing for publication as much—or more so—as in other endeavors. You’ve heard it often: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” It may sound cynical. It may be discouraging. You may not want to believe it. But it’s true. To some, of course, that means everyone else gets the …

Read moreIt’s Not What You Know; It’s Who You Know
Category: Book Business, Career, ConferencesTag: Book Business, Career, The Writing Life

A Writer’s Water Bill: A Hidden Cost of Doing Business

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 22, 2018
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If you’re dreaming of being a successful writer, you may not be aware of some hidden costs of doing business, such as buying your marvelous editor dinner every week,  subscribing to writing magazines and buying books on the writing craft, sending your fabulous agent gourmet coffee every month, increased coffee consumption for creativity and energy, a whopping Internet bill to help you do the …

Read moreA Writer’s Water Bill: A Hidden Cost of Doing Business
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Creativity, Money, The Writing Life
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