by Cody Hodge

Created on: July 25, 2009

The hardest thing about being a writer isn't the constant rejection, or the low pay that writers tend to encounter. It isn't about being able to get your work out there to publishers, or establishing an effective network of people who are going to help you along the way. The hardest thing about being a writer has nothing to do with the act of writing, or marketing your work. The hardest part about being a writer is having the mental ability to believe that you are a good writer when you face all the adversity of being a writer.

The best thing to do is to just realize that success is never easy, and that if you want it bad enough you will be willing to be all in through thick and thin. If you are going to give up after one rejection letter, or even a few rejection letters then you are not a writer. A real writer will believe in the craft as opposed to what it will do for them financially, or doing it because it is easy. A good writer believes that they are the real deal no matter what.

As I said, it is about the craft, and not about pleasing other people. Don't worry about getting reject once, ten times, or even 100 times in your few first months. As you write, you will learn a lot about what people want to see, and what kind of style is going to work better. You will get a good network going, and you will become encouraged that you are not the only one being rejected left and right. You might even find that you are a little bit further ahead of some writers.

The best thing you can do is to just learn from your experiences regardless of if they are good or bad. If you get published, remember what you did, and how you went about writing that article. Chances are that you hit upon something that is going to be a good source of repeat sales, and you should keep in mind what happened. If you get rejected, just keep in mind what you did then too, and figure out ways that you can do things differently for your next submission.

Remember that there are thousands of writers out there, and it is really hard to find good ones in the eyes of publishers. It takes so much work just to publish one book, or one magazine article that it can be hard for a publisher to want to take a chance on a new writer. It takes a lot of time to market and develop a first time author, so don't take anything personal. Just keep going, and believe that you are the real deal. If you quit you will never succeed.

Just hang in there and learn from your past mistakes. Just stay in the game, and if you really have a dream to be a writer don't ever stop dreaming. Stay committed and one day something will break your way, and you will be glad you perservered throught the hard times to get to the glory days.

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