Who To Take Writing And Life Advice From

As you all know, I’m trying to get back into the daily blog writings. This is trickier than I thought, but yesterday I remembered an old trick that I used to pull from the hat when needed.

Namely, going to Reddit and seeing what the various subreddits for related topics to the blog project and giving my answers here.

Years ago, I wrote a blog post called “Reddit’s Writing Forum Continues To Be Lame.” (Side note: seems like it’s one that got nuked in the blog deletion way back. I’ll track it down.)

This topic is pretty much a rewrite of that one, (even though I haven’t read it back,) because the advice and outlook is pretty much the same.

Check this guy out:

Firstly, let’s address the title of the topic. “Why is there so much concern with a potential audience?”

Why Write For “An Audience”

Coming from direct response marketing, this seems a silly question. Then you realise that a lot of writers simply don’t think about what it is they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and the results they may or may not get.

In direct response, everything you do centres around the audience. Direct response literally means that you need to get a direct response from your audience. You write an ad. They click on it. You don’t really care whether they read it or not, as long as they perform the action you want them to next; usually clicking on the next thing, inevitably leading them to spend money, and then more money, on the products you’re selling.

Writers of the sort of our Reddit user above do not think like this. They probably should. People write for many reasons, but if you call yourself a writer, everyone will assume you want people to read your work. If you call yourself a professional writer, then there’s the assumption you’re going to sell your books or otherwise make money from the profession.

Once you come to the conclusion that, as a writer, your job is to get people reading your stories in a way that makes you money, the answer to our Reddit guys initial question is obvious.

You write with the audience in mind because you want to write what they want to read, because writing what they want to read leads to them reading more and, as a natural consequence, more fame, fortune and gold coins in your pocket.

Moreover, targeting to an audience makes you a better writer in all the facets that entails. I won’t dwell on that, because here’s the wider intended point for today. It has little to do with writing.

Be Careful Who You Take Advice From

Let’s look beyond the title question.

Our guy isn’t asking that question in good faith. In fact, he’s actually here to give us advice!

Or, not. It’s just weapons-grade psychological coping.

I picked this post particularly because it’s a great insight into all the bad habits that you can get as a writer.

Our guy (or girl,):

• Has been writing for ten years, never sold anything (well… one poem to a literary magazine)
• Doesn’t think it’s important to write with an audience in mind
• Thinks that nobody else on the Reddit Writing forum will make a living from it either
• Has accepted that they’ll never “make it” as a writer

Basically every sentence in that post is a commiseration/clap on the back/beg for justification for an outlook.

It’s very difficult to see our own blindspots, and this person probably doesn’t look at their post and think, “Jesus, when I put it like that I suck.”

And while the moral part of my brain is telling me, “Jamie, don’t kick this person when they’re down,” there’s a point in here.

This person is giving advice. Saying, “Don’t write with an audience in mind. Be like me. Accept that you’ll never make money with your writing. Accept that your writing will be lost to time and obscurity. You were never going to succeed anyway.”

Needless to say, do not take advice from people like this. Unless your goal is defeatism and self-imposed mediocrity.

The Practical Bit

This isn’t just a rant. Now I’m blogging again, I want everything to have a practical focus.

Today’s practical focus:

• Figure out your own way of doing sentiment analysis (is a statement negative, positive or neutral – what about the person saying it?)
• Figure out whether the person is giving advice from a place you’d like to be, or on a subject you’d like to figure out
• Are they pushing you towards where you want to be or what you want to learn?

Now, the advice could be about writing, it could be about fitness, or any other subject. The above is a pretty global framework.

Back To Writing For An Audience

With all of the above said, here are some recommendations. (Because, ultimately, I’m trying to adhere to the rules I’ve set above regarding being a person who gives advice.)

Firstly, ignore the reddit guy and anyone who talks like him. The reality, and you don’t have to take my word for it, is that there are, all told, hundreds of thousands if not millions of people who make a living from writing.

There are countless more who write as a hobby and have many, many readers, followers, listeners, and audiences who consume the written word in countless ways.

There is no need to accept being a mediocre writer who “writes for themselves” feeling nobody will ever read their work.

Of course, if you want something to never be read by anyone else, that’s fine. My diaries are for me and me alone. But separate that from your writing for others. Because even if you’re not bothered about making money or building an audience, you will get better at writing if you imagine writing for an audience.

This might look like writing non-fiction, where you write a how-to guide on cold-smoking different foods. (Like the one I consumed today to make smoked cheese and butter for the first time.)

It might look like fiction, where you study a particular genre, work out the beats and tropes of that genre, and then become a bestseller in mafia romances or Bigfoot horror stories and pay off your mortgage with the book sales.

Each of these things becomes a project which forces you to think, “I have to learn a particular subskill within writing,” and that makes you a better writer overall.

And you’re rewarded for that in many ways.

P.S.

I said at the beginning of the month that accountability and moving forwards with my projects was my main goal for the month. I’ll be back in regular office hours tomorrow, and a big focus will be moving forward with the fiction projects I’ve promised in the past.

I’ll be working in public via this blog, so expect a lot more practical advice to come.