Starting Your Writing Career as a College Student: 5 Things to Consider

Aspiring to become a writer as a college student may seem retro from a certain point of view. With so many modern occupations related to IT, AI, and digital industries, becoming a writer can seem antiquated.

However, book publishing is still on an upward trend despite eBooks and audiobooks becoming more popular. As a college student, you are in the perfect position to shape your writer’s career into something truly special. Before you jump into it, here are a few things to keep in mind as you start your writing career.

1. It Might Take a While Before you are Published

Before you devote yourself to a writer’s career, you should know that getting published isn’t easy. Take Brandon Sanderson, a giant of modern fantasy literature, as an example. Sanderson wrote 13 novels before he managed to sell even one, after which publishers took notice of him and the rest became history.

His story serves to drive an important point home – you will need supplementary income to live off of before you go big as a writer. While he was developing his literary universe of interconnected works, Sanderson worked full-time in a hotel. Becoming a writer takes passion, dedication, and discipline. If writing is your calling, this bump in the road won’t stop you in the slightest.

2. Look for Inspiration in Contemporary Writers

While you can look for your writer’s muse in the literary geniuses of the past, it might be better to look to contemporaries for inspiration. Depending on the literary genre you feel drawn to, and whether you gravitate toward prose or poetry, there are dozens of writers to look to. Haruki Murakami is a writer whose surrealist writing is juxtaposed with existing historic facts about art, philosophy, and music.

He is the prime example of how pouring “yourself” into your writing can result in mesmerizing, world-renown writing. Research their careers and look for the roots of their writing career to see how they came to be where they are now. Taking “writing” from a pedestal and seeing it objectively will allow you to get a much better perspective on how to succeed going forward.

3. You will have to Dedicate Time to Develop your Writing Voice

When it comes to the subject of writing, originality isn’t as important as much as your writing style and voice. Take Dan Brown, the renowned author of Angels & Demons, and many other Robert Langdon books. His writing style is far from beloved by literary critics. However, each book he publishes is a best-seller almost immediately – why is that?

It’s not so much about “what” you write about as it is about “how” you write it. This is why you should also look for admission services help if you are writing your admission papers as a future freshman or college student. Put in the effort to hone your writing skills and a style unique to your personality – that’s what publishers and readers enjoy about authors.

4. Set your Daily Writing Schedule and Stick to It

Discipline is a major component of becoming a successful writer. While it is true that you cannot create art under pressure, writing a book is a monumental task that will take months, if not years. For a good example of a disciplined author, we need to look no further than Stephen King, who needs no introduction.

His writing habits consist of working on new materials four hours a day, each day. This has resulted in King producing writing materials for his publishers at an unprecedented pace. As you begin to develop your career as a writer, you will have to create a strict schedule and abide by it. Writing a few sentences here and there won’t help you reach the point of looking for a publisher any time soon. Put in the time to express your ideas in writing every day, and the results will speak for themselves.

5. Consider Freelance Writing as a Professional Exercise

Lastly, there is a way for you to both work on your writing style and earn an income while developing your career. Platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr offer a plethora of projects in a variety of niches for writers such as yourself.

You can work as a blog writer, ghostwriter, or content creator for websites in need of different types of writing. This will help you manage your financial situation until you reach a point where you are ready to present your work to a local publisher. Freelance writing is also flexible, meaning that you can pause or quit if a better opportunity arrives, making it a good choice for college students.

Getting from Here to There (Conclusion)

If becoming a writer is what you are passionate about, there will be no stopping you once you hit your stride in writing new materials. Be mindful of the reality that writing isn’t easy and straightforward. However – it is a battle with yourself to remain focused and dedicated enough. If you can manage that, you will build a successful career as a writer straight out of college, doing what you love.

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at Bestwritingadvisor, an aggregator for useful college resources and websites. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

Image source: pexels.com