Mar
12
“Write what you know.”
Every writer has heard it. Some disagree with it. I think it’s a good place for a new writer to start. It’s how I started, and it’s how I still make my living.
Even if you’re brand new to writing, you can turn what you know into a career, a feature article, a novel, or a really good blog post. It’s up to you.
Step 1: Know what you want to write
In order to write well, you must have a driving passion. To write a great novel, you must care about your characters. To write convincing copy, you must care about making a sale.
I’d make a crappy ad writer. My ads would go “Buy This. Click Here.” I know a lot about cleaning up rabbit turds, but that doesn’t mean I want to write a book about it.
Chances are you have more knowledge than things you want to write about. You could spend hours making lists of things you know. You know a lot of stuff.
If you want to make a list of potential career niches, story ideas or articles to pitch, forget what you know for a minute and write down what you want to write. Write down what you’d be good at writing. Write down what you can picture yourself writing well.
Step 2: Know who would want to buy it
Not every idea is marketable. Some unique ideas don’t have a big enough buyer base or audience. Some ideas have been done to death. Know where your ideas stand, and you’ll save yourself a lot of time (and maybe a few trees).
I have a novel manuscript currently filed under “live and learn.” I had a good idea. I wrote I book I’d want to read. I never thought about what section of the bookstore it would go in. No agent or publisher will touch it.
If your goal is to make money, don’t waste your time writing something that won’t sell. Research the market. Research several markets. Want to write greeting cards? Browse the card aisles. Check the greeting card companies’ websites for guidelines on what they buy. Want to write for trade publications? Buy some. Study their websites.
Then flop your idea around. An article that can’t be sold to a consumer mag might make a good jumping off place for that how-to book you’ve been dying to write. Consider various possibilities before you ditch an idea you love.
Step 3: Know what you know
If you’ve determined your idea is marketable, and you’ve got a good prospective base of people you can sell it to, you’re already over halfway there. And you don’t even know what you know yet!
Here’s the frustrating thing about knowledge. Our brains are on overload. Our memories retain garbage. But that knowledge is there, buried under the grocery lists and old locker combinations.
If you have the passion to write about something, it’s probably because you already have at least some knowledge about it. You’ve just got to tap into it.
Grab a pen, or pull up a new document. Take inventory.
Step 4: Know what you don’t know
No matter how much you know, there will be more that you don’t know.
I’ve read the new bankruptcy law 500 times. I can recite it like the pledge of allegiance. Doesn’t mean I know the answer to every bankruptcy question thrown at me.
For every job I take, even when it’s a topic I know, I have to do my homework. Research done, reading required, questions asked. Everything we learned in junior high still applies. And being able to admit you don’t know everything is still a favorable quality.
Where ever you see a gap, write down what you don’t know.
Step 5: Know who knows what you don’t know
The internet and the library are great places to find fast answers to most uncomplicated questions. But beyond these resources, the world is full of experts.
Get to know other writers who write what you want to write and do it well. Ask them how they achieved their successes. People like to brag about how they got where they got. And some are more than willing to share industry and other contacts.
Get to know any niche expert you can. Not just the competition, but your allies. Freelance writers can benefit from knowing freelance bloggers, designers, consultants. What they do to succeed might be applicable to your own success, even if they don’t do exactly what you do.
Get to know every industry expert. Those who know the latest news and trends. Those who teach. Those who worked in the field for years. Anyone you might be able to interview, quote, or get a unique perspective from will be a great asset to you.
Get to know the agents, the publishers, the editors. Read their websites, their blogs, their interviews, the books they’ve done.
Get to know your readers. Ask what they want and what they don’t, what they love and what they hate. Ask what they’ve already read and what they’re aching to read. What do they wish someone would tell them? How can you tell it to them in a way that will reach them?
Enjoy this blog? Subscribe by feed.
Comments
9 Responses to “How To Write What You Know and Sell It”
Leave a Reply
-
-
About Amy Derby
Formerly a corporate paralegal, I ditched the pantyhose to begin freelancing in 2004. I enjoy long walks to the coffee maker, never setting an alarm clock, and not wearing a bra to the (home) office. I can be reached at amy.derby (at) gmail.com.
Great post, Amy.
You almost lost me at “Know who knows what you don’t know,” but I think I’m just having a sloooow day.
This is simply excellent advice. I do think we can write what we don’t know. We just have to learn it, imagine it, and interweave it with what we do know. It’s fun to make stuff up (and I mean that with regards to writing fiction, not copy).
Writing Forward
@Bob - happy you enjoyed. I wrote this on the fly, so any bad choice of words is just my fast typing while trying to think at the same time. Hard to do sometimes.
Hope you’ll visit again.
@Melissa - I agree. And thanks. I like to start with what I know and then add in what I don’t. Fiction really needed a whole separate post here, I’m thinking in hindsight. Thanks for the visit.
Hi Amy,
Great post, like Bob I got too many know to know how and write what you know ans know how to write, etc. My head is spinning but I loved it.
Great article, Amy! You’ve shared some more sound advice I’m sure your readers appreciate. I know I do. Sometimes as we’re struggling to write or find our inspiration, we forget to just stop and think sensibly about it all. That’s why I have always loved coming here. You are so grounded in the freelance writing world and continue to inspire and teach the writing community!
It’s great to have you back!
Smiles,
Michele
@Monika - I just reread the post, and it made my head spin too. Guess what seemed clever at the time isn’t so clever the next day before I’ve had my coffee.
Thanks for stopping by!
@Michele - I was starting to get worried I’d given you my mono through the cyber waves! Thanks for your kind compliments. I can’t remember whether I already told you, but I love the new header of your blog. It looks very nice.
@ Amy: Nah, you didn’t give me your mono through the cyber waves.
Just been busy and had computer troubles, but I’m good to go now. You’re most welcome for the compliments and I appreciate that you like my new header. It was in my head, but Heather from Goofy Girl Designs is the talented one who created it for me.
I’ve got the busy bug and the computer bug myself. Well, actually, I’m not sure what’s wrong with my computer (no virus, says the little guy in the corner), but it sure is freezing up a lot. I don’t think I’m running too much stuff, but who knows. Argh. So yeah, I feel your pain.
if you want to know a good website to get good freelancing jobs, go to: (drum roll please…)
http://www.freelancewriting.com !!!
isn’t that such an original name? anyways, go to writers guidelines and you’ll see a list of, um, what’s the word? they’re blue and you click on them…oh well. well click on a blue thing that says something that interests you and then a bunch of jobs will pop up!!
it’s magic!