Writers, we need your voice now more than ever.
Literature is fucking powerful—especially in a fascist regime.
Take a break from creating #content to focus on writing or pitching.
Sure, social media can give you instant gratification and proof of concept for larger projects, but content creation in nature is designed to be fleeting. Trying to go viral took a toll on my mental health. Plus, viral videos/tweets/posts are often forgotten about the next day because something else went viral.
As RuPaul often jokes, when something goes viral, there’s usually an ointment for that.
The ointment I suggest is writing and pitching.
Now might be a great time to press pause on creating Reels, IG stories, and TikToks, and press play on nurturing your writing process.
Here’s what I suggest:
Attend literary events at your local bookstore. You’ll meet like-minded folks who are often in the publishing/media space. While you’re in the bookstore, spend time near the bookshelves where your future book will live. Writing a memoir? Hang out in the memoir section. Creating a card deck? Browse the decks and workbooks. And of course, buy some books!
Record voice memos. Sometimes you just need to talk out your ideas to understand what you’re trying to write about. Send a voice memo to a friend or use a voice recording app. Paste the transcription into a Google Doc/Word Doc, then keep writing out your thoughts.
Write. This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you want to be a professional writer, you gotta write words. A lot of them. No piece of content creation is more important than writing your manuscript. Agents and editors agree!
Read. OK… another no-brainer, but reading books makes you a better writer. Pay attention to sentence structures. Observe how the writer tackled difficult subject matter. Ask yourself how you’d write about that same topic. Think critically about what you just read. Write about what you just read.
Treat your writing like learning an instrument. I wrote about this topic here.
Write a newsletter. This is a great way to ease into long-form writing if you’re used to writing short-form social media captions.
Pitch essays/op-eds/journalistic pieces to media outlets. Do you have a lot of existing content on social media? Use your most popular posts as proof of concept in your pitches. Learn how I turned a viral Substack Note into an essay for Business Insider here.
Pitch yourself on podcasts. Similar idea as above, just for podcasts. Don’t know how to pitch podcast hosts and producers? I write a monthly column called Behind the Pitch where I share annotated screenshots of my accepted pitches.
Take a writing class or hire a writing coach. I’m a professional writer and writing teacher who regularly attends writing classes to get feedback on my drafts. Want my advice on something you’ve written (or haven’t written yet)? Book a coaching sesh with me here.
🌀Upcoming Classes at WritingWorkshops.com
🃏Create + Pitch Your Own Card Deck July 16th 6-8EST. Sign up here.
💻Be Your Own Publicist Sept 30th, 6-8EST Sign up here.
📃Book Proposal 101 Oct 1st, 6-8EST. Sign up here.
📓Writing Goals Workshop Dec 13th, 6-8EST. Sign up here.
✊🏽 RESIST!!!!
-Tawny
I needed this reminder to start the week - the doomscroll rabbit hole is real.
BEAUTIFUL!