Substack Asked Writers What They Struggle With. Here's What They Said.

I wonder if this ever changes. Or if you can add to the list.

I was going to write about this months ago but I wasn’t sure what to make of it, so I didn’t. Thought I’d stew on it a bit first.

So I stewed on it and I’m still not sure what to make of it, but maybe it’s an interesting conversation waiting to be had.

Many moons ago, Substack asked writers what they struggle with.

When I read the post, it had over 300 comments. I read them all.

So here’s what writers said they struggle with, in order of frequency.

1. Finding time to write (because, job)

2. Promoting their writing.

3. Writer’s block.

4. Editing and knowing what to edit.

5. Getting paid.

First thing I wondered is this… what kind of writer? Because I suspect that someone who’s writing a fantasy novel might not be the same as someone who is writing on Medium or Vocal or even Substack, for that matter.

The most common and frequent reply was finding time to write.

I found that interesting because I think it’s the easiest one to solve. Time isn’t something we find, it’s something we make. You know? Pick a time, and keep doing it until it’s habit.

Get up an hour early and write for an hour. Or take your sandwich to the car or a quiet corner and write while we have lunch.

Paul Harding was writing his Pulitzer winning novel when he had a colicky baby. So every time the baby started to cry, he’d grab the baby and a notepad and head out to the car. Then he’d drive around until the baby fell asleep and then he’d pull over and write until the baby woke up again. It worked for him.

Promoting our writing doesn’t work the way most people think…

You know what most people think promoting their writing means, right? They think it means running around social media linking their stuff. There’s entire Facebook groups of people sharing links to books, blog posts stories on Medium and Vocal.

It doesn’t really work, of course. Not very well, anyway.

Because most people are there to drop links, not read stuff. You know? Oh, maybe you get a little burst of half a dozen reads before the link scrolls into the oblivion of everyone else posting their links.

The real trick is building a community around a shared interest, but that feels really intimidating to a lot of people and they don’t know where to start so they don’t. Maybe there’s more worth talking about there?

I’m not sure I believe in writer’s block

Unless maybe in the case of fiction authors who don’t know where the story goes next. Usually writing some backstory helps find the trail.

But for everyone else? I don’t know. All I know is if I showed up with coffee and cookies, most people almost never have talker’s block. Know what I mean?

Editing is a real thing...

Good writing isn’t really good writing. Good writing is good editing. Stephen King likes to say this thing that goes something like — if it doesn’t move the story along, get rid of it. But again, editing depends on what kind of writer you are.

If you’re writing fiction, the best gift you can give your book is to hire an editor. Not a proofreader. An editor. Like, storyline editing. But for everyone else? For the people on Medium, Vocal and Substack — editing is a hard part, for sure.

Last but not least… getting paid.

Getting paid straggled in at the end. I was surprised how few people mentioned getting paid considering that 1% of books sell over 5000 copies and the number of people making over $100 at Medium or Vocal are a single digit percent.

But I’ll tell you what I wondered.

I wondered if that quiet little mention of getting paid, barely whispered at the bottom of the list, might have turned the list into a great big circle.

Because if most writers knew, without a doubt, that they would earn a respectable amount of compensation for their writing, would they still have trouble finding time to write?

Like… if someone said you’ll get $200 or $500 for every thousand words, would writers still struggle to find time to write?

Is the number one problem really finding time to write?

Or is the real problem justifying the time it takes to write when it doesn’t get read and doesn’t do anything to help put some coin in the coffers?

Several years ago, I used to do seo copywriting for a big seo firm who represented a lot of big brands. My contract paid $1 per word and I promise you I never had trouble finding time to write. But on Medium or Vocal? I struggle to find time to write.

It makes me wonder if the first and last struggle are one and the same.

What do you think?

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If you haven’t heard from me yet…

Just an fyi, if you reached out via email after last week’s email and haven’t heard back, I’ll be in touch soon. I’ve been bombed with holiday ecommerce for my clients. Once I get caught up, I’ll respond personally to your email. That’s a promise. Thanks!

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On Medium…

• How The Police Made Margaret Hennessey Afraid To Go Outside

• This One Writing Tip From John Green Pretty Much Beats Them All

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Thanks and have a great weekend.

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xo
Linda