How to become a writer

of poetry, articles and non-fiction books. You don't need formal training, to be a certain age or to feel threatened by fellow writers. Also: notes on being paid to write and writing with dyslexia.

I have had more questions about ‘how to write’ in recent weeks than ever before.

My sister’s son (my nephew) is an avid reader, aged 7, and told her he might like to become an author.

She wondered if he needed to be writing more, to work towards that, but I told her I thought reading was more important.

This is where we learn about form, structure, dialogue, dialect, the rhythm of the words in a sentence.

All great writers are - I believe - great readers (‘great’ in the sense of ‘doing it a lot’).

Writing poetry

I have also been asked about writing poetry, and my answer is the same: read poetry by a variety of poets, and work out what you like about certain poems over others.

My favourite poets are:

• Wendy Cope (particularly her poem ‘After the lunch’).

• Sharon Olds’ Stag’s Leap collection, about her divorce.

• The poetry of Frank O’Hara (a Beat Poet. His poems are about the everyday and - I think - very accessible.

I like poetry that I get straight away. I don’t like metaphor that is so heavy and deep I can’t follow easily.

I don’t like fanciful language either; I prefer simple language that delivers a deep message and evokes emotion.

Non-fiction books

With writing non-fiction books - and being published - I think what’s most important is a ‘current’ idea that will resonate with people.

And then persistence.

Of course, you need to be able to write. But I think anyone who wants to write, can. It is a craft that takes practise, but it is not exclusive.

When you have a non-fiction book idea, talk about it with people.

Watch whether their eyes light up because it feels exciting, enlightening, interesting, thought-provoking.

Mention it on social media. Share snippets or stories and see if it generates conversation amongst your followers.

And remember: just because someone else has already written a book on this, it doesn’t mean you can’t.

Take ‘sobriety’ and ‘manifesting’.

There are lots of books on both, because they are big topics and those who are interested want lots of different ideas, stories and approaches.

I am devouring books and podcasts by - and about - people who have stopped drinking alcohol.

Likewise spiritual books that give me new ideas about ways to connect with the world around me.

When I wrote my own spiritual book - Raise your SQ - I drew on ideas I’d picked up from other people and books, as well as adding in original ideas, rituals and exercises.

Many others writing on this subject supported my book, rather than seeing it as a threat to theirs.

I became part of a new community, rather than ostracised for ‘copying’ other people who had already written about spirituality.

Writing and dyslexia

I have a child with dyslexia who writes brilliant poetry and stories.

The imagination - and listening to other people’s poetry/stories - is what drives her. Once she started writing, she couldn’t stop.

She is unselfconscious about spelling, which I love and never meddle with, knowing that what matters more is the sentiment.

And her words are always presented with illustrations, as she is a visual artist too.

I struggle a little with the visual representation of my own words, as I don’t feel I am so much of a visual artist.

Sometimes, I illustrate my poems, which is fun, but I still don’t know which font will look best.

In the end, I decide to not worry too much about that. It’s more important that the words mean something to the reader than the choice of font.

That said, a really terrible font will be distracting, so I do give it a little bit of attention.

Being paid to write

I find the divide between writing for money and writing for pure creativity quite interesting.

And ever-evolving, for me.

I’ve mentioned before that I have been close to having a collection of my poems traditionally published three times.

Once by a major publisher who dropped me at the last minute when the (male) sales team backtracked, deciding there was no market for motherhood poetry.

And twice by indie poetry presses.

The first indie press delivered feedback on my collection in such a brutal way, I decided I couldn’t work with them.

It made me realise that my poetry is very dear to me, and I won’t have just anyone wade in and try to change it.

The second, I can’t quite remember. I think I was going through a period of feeling I should be paid for my writing and with a small press, there isn’t always an advance.

This press I love, though.

I think that it’s important to understand why you are writing in the genre you are writing in.

All of my writing - non-fiction, journalism, poetry, the novel I’m working on - is about taking a hopeful stance on something tricky.

With journalism and non-fiction books, I do expect to be paid.

But with poetry, I find myself writing poems and sharing them on Instagram and not feeling it needs to be a financial exchange.

So I’m not chasing one.

I have in the past, and I’ve made money from my poetry through self-publishing, selling my books on a market stall, making prints and getting corporate commissions.

But what matters to me more with poetry is just the writing of it, and the sharing.

I would happily accept a book deal for my poetry, if I was paid something in advance and allowed to retain creative control.

Otherwise, I’m not hugely bothered.

Journalism

I have a Masters in journalism, and I definitely learnt a lot on that course but I learned more just starting to write articles for local and regional press.

I’d come up with ideas that I thought would work well, email the editors to pitch the ideas and they’d say yes or no.

Some papers started coming to me, asking me to review festivals and art exhibitions, as well as interview poets, filmmakers and visual artists.

At first, I wasn’t paid.

But in time, I was writing freelance articles for bigger publications - the Guardian, Stylist, the Telegraph - and being paid.

However, the pitching process is pretty arduous. You can spend hours crafting a pitch, never knowing whether it will be commissioned.

If it is, you might spend a week writing it, you won’t be paid enough and it can take weeks - even months - for it to be published (and you to be paid).

So, while I still love writing articles - and would happily write one if I was contacted by an editor - I’m not actively pitching.

Instead, I’m sharing my ideas in these Substack emails. I have full control, and I love it.

On that note, if you would like to support my personal essays by becoming a paid subscriber - £3.50/month; £35/year - I’d be every so grateful.

You can do that here:

Thank you for reading.

Love,

Annie x