Being an Author Can Really Suck!
"Yes, being an author can suck! Period!"
And that’s pretty much the crux of it. Especially if our text-heavy compositions are merged within the overwhelming majority of “traditional” social media content. Lifeblogs, informative articles, vlogs, travel blogs, animations, the list can go on and on and on. And given the fact that our human brains are pre-programmed to be most receptive to image-related stimuli, just further compounds this problem. So, where does this all lead? Is this the foreboding doomsday scenario of despair we dedicated authors as a collective, are destined for? To be automatically consigned to the restricted category of “niche”, garnering the interest of only a handful of appreciative audience members?
Quite the contrary, I believe. In fact, I know so. Nothing could be further from the truth. You only have to look so far as the highly competitive market of internationally published writing. In 2016, a total of 360 million books were sold (a 2% increase from the preceding year). That’s an astonishing amount of reading, in relation to anyone’s yardstick. People love to read. It’s a recreational activity that has spanned generations over and never ceases to lose global interest, even given humanities incredible technological leaps and bounds. The simple, but powerful form of applying black lettering over a white background has, and will always, stand the tests of time. And the main reason for this is an obvious one. Imagination.
"The Mind's Eye Never Closes"
Yes, the one defining difference that separates what we “see” from what we “want” to see. And that is indeed a precious gift any quality author can provide for their target audience. Put another way, the creation (or you might even say “implanting”) of all-singing, all-dancing thoughts with a view to expressing the vision that you and you alone hold. That in itself, wields great power. It has the ability to change a person's perceptions, release long-untapped emotions or even lead to dramatic changes in one’s own personal lifestyle and experiences. The power of the written word manipulated in the correct manner, has almost limitless potential...
I have been writing for quite some time now and have formulated a few strict rules I adhere to when penning my work. I find they have benefited me greatly not only in terms of relaying my underlying “vision” across to the reader but also in improving structure, pacing and general narrative. And seeing how there are so many new, talented authors signing up to Steemit with such a driving regularity, I thought I’d do a short series on explaining some of those techniques I apply and see if any of them could be of use to your own literary hand. I know I myself am always open to constructive suggestion and tend to keep an open-mind to criticism, however negative.
"I believe life is a journey based upon learning, evolving and refining. From the beginning all the way through to the end. We’re never too young or too old to be educated."
So, I wish you all the best and look forward to starting this series soon as well as look forward to loads more awesome stories and posts tucked away on the Steem Blockchain for safe keeping.
Take care and God bless!
And a good story opens and keeps that eye open. When I read, I don't just see the words, in fact I rarely see the words in a well written story. To me a "great book" is one that I get to watch from start to finish without any commercial interruptions. A "good book" only has a few minor interruptions that throw a STOP sign up at me and then I need to recollect the story, to get it moving in my mind again.
Looking forward to the "lessons"
Goddamn, man! Not much I can add to that incredible and inspiring comment. I'll just let my vote speak for itself. :)
I like your writing, and your attitude toward your viewers/readers. You do not dis them nor call them idiots or accuse them of not getting it. So I follow you, and enjoy reading your work, and you seem to genuinely care about your craft, and fellow crafters. Connections are not just about oh this goes here, it is about making a change, bring people thoughts and ideas together to share with others. And you GET it.
Thank you for seeing me as the person I strive to be. This ain't no rat race to see who can get to the top first. I believe we're all in this together and every one of us pulling in the right direction should get us to where we wanna go. I view where I've got to today on Steemit as a true blessing, but also with a tonne of hard-work, effort and dedication behind it as well. So the way I see it, if I can push to get recognition here on this platform, any one of us can too. :)
Bless, my brother... For you kind and humbling words.
Ditto that!
And being open to constructive suggestion (aka criticism) of one's writing is a hallmark of the humility and honesty required of great writers.
@bashadow said (the reply feature here... eh)
especially you seem to genuinely care about your craft, and fellow crafters
Fans of @ezzy, you can hear him on Fictioneer Radio, which aired a week ago today, and @anarcho-andrei has been recording:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@anarcho-andrei/fictioneers-ep-5-we-got-ezzy-on-the-show
Just one more page.
Now I have to finish the chapter.
Oh, maybe I can just read a page or two to see what this chapter is about.
Then back to step 1. That is how I am when I am reading an amazing story. I conjure up the whole world based on the words the author has written, but I make it my own in the process. That is why books are so good. YOU make the world, the author just gave you the building plans.
The more skilled the word architect, the better the world because beautifully placed words create worlds.
That is what you do my friend.
Oh, my bro! Too kind! That coming from you is pretty much the highest compliment I can receive. I can't really think of much to add to that because you sum everything up so well. The author hands out the blue prints, the reader becomes the architect.
Just beautiful, @getonthetrain... :)
Very true words for me also. I'm looking forward to reading what you have in store for us. I know that there is a growing market for authors. It can seem overwhelming at times as so many people enter the market, but quality will always have its place. Quality of craftsmanship and quality of ideas.
Hey there, @naquoya! Hope you are well, buddy. Well, as you can see, many new Steemian's are working their way on to the platform only to feel disheartened and discouraged after a short while. Though you always seem to remain positive and have honed your personal craft into a fine art form. That takes time and hours upon hours of sharpening to perfect and get where you are now. And how excellent you have become at it. This is the right way of doing it, as far as I'm concerned.
Thank you for blessing my post with your wise words. :)
I understand their sense of being disheartened. I won't lie, I have been through all of that. I made a decision earlier to utilise my time here to get better, whether I get popular or not. There are certain dynamics here (as well as the internet in general) that can make that difficult. But I will always be in control of my own abilities. They were a little raw and rough one year ago when I started here. Now I think there is improvement. So I consider my Steemit experience to be a success.
And always be willing to learn from others. To interact with them. If they are up for it. Such as yourself. Thanks again :)
@naquoya, you've been a blessing to us at the FW, and you sent @Geke our way somewhere along the line. With her came @Jimitations --hey, I have to think you're due for some seriously good karma. You have a fan club at the FW, people who follow your fiction religiously. So methinks your committment is about to pay off.
Thank you, sincerely appreciate that. I've never had a fan club before. I know having the FW is a giant step in the right direction for those of us here who are genuine in their desires to improve as writers, and to produce quality material. So my reciprocal thanks to you :)
Those comments by the awesome @rhondak just warm my heart. But then again, it comes as no surprise. Keep up the great work, man. The general consensus is overwhelmingly positive and so it should be. :)
Even steemit is keeping me up pass midnight which is unhealthy and I think many real writers do most of their work at night when it's more peaceful for thoughts. However, according to traditional Chinese medicine, different parts of the body need to rest at different time. Between 11pm to 1am, I think it's the kidney. Otherwise, there will be illness with that part of the body likely.
Wow! I didn't know that, but that's useful info! Make sure you get plenty of rest and only write when your mind and body are as close to "one" as possible.
Wish I would have come across you sooner. I can relate (on many levels) with your optimistic outlook and writing style. Looking forward to learning from/with you @ezzy
Bless, brother! You seem to have adopted the perfect attitude starting out on Steemit. You'll go far on the path you've chosen. Just remain consistent and flexible in your approach to creating great content.
I wish you every success, sir. :)
Hello @ezzy. I really look forward to your posts on improving writing. I have been a sleeper since joining and for now prefer to read (especially your posts) but hope to change that soon.
Such an articulate and informative article from you. I agree with every word and have already learned many lessons from your great writing skills.
Hey there, my brother! Man, thanks again for the vote of confidence and invaluable support. Such kind words as always, very humbled. When you do start posting, I'm sure you'll do great. All the best and thanks once again. :)
I am really happy if you're right about readers numbers growing! Here, books don't sell anymore... :( (I'm reluctant to publish anything in my own language...)
Oh yes, the numbers are growing everyday, buddy. And you should be proud of your success on Steemit. You're doing great! But for now, English seems a preference when it comes to writing. You are right.
Thank you man, I feel really humbled by all this. And, once more thank you for your ongoing support.
Unfortunatelly, for my fiction books I wasn't refering to Stemmit... I was refering that people generally don't buy books in Croatia... :D
Sorry for the mix-up, bro. And it's my pleasure supporting a great writer such as yourself. And I guess I wouldn't worry too much about the books of Croatia when you've got international publication houses that can get your work noticed on a global scale. You seem to be doing just fine in the "English" format. :)
Thank you, my friend. These are really kind words! :)
Writing is i hard indeed and sometimes treated unfairly on this forum. Frequently I see posts with just a simple pic getting the same rewards as a good article. But will continue writing anyway. Amazing how you got 64 votes with just 20 views by the way. This is one of the things i see is wrong with Steem. Not with you getting the reward but people upvoting without reading...
@attalis. Man, you've got the whole thing mixed up.
You just started on this platform last month! You need to give it time. It took me AGES to build up a decent following to the point where people appreciate what I write. Does it really matter how many votes you gain or how many people have read you article when you start out? People who vote me are doing so because I've earned their RESPECT and they EXPECT a certain standard of quality that I've shown in the past. Does it really matter if they skip over one of our posts (possibly to read later), given that Steemit is heaving with so many of them? Over time, people vote for the PERSON behind the post too. Please bear that in mind.
I started out just as you did. From scratch. You gotta stay positive, man. As I mentioned above, the primary thing for you to do now is build up a strong portfolio. And that will only come to fruition over time. Have patience, be consistent and everything after will fall into place.
We are all offered the very same chance on Steemit so please persevere and take advantage of yours.
Thanks @ezzy for the supporting words. I agree with you, it doesn't matter if people upvote you, me or anyone else if they read the post later. But frequently they don't. I have checked many such posts since i began noticing the behavior. Just voting for the person behind the post without ever reading doesn't seem fair to me. The fact that people take the time to read someone's post should (in my view) be the benefit of having followers, not to be given blind upvotes. Anyway, the feeling this is wrong with steemit is not directed to you of course and given the fact you provided such a detailed response shows you are one of the good guys. I just would like the system to be fairer and in my opinion (and many others i have read about this topic) this is not helping. Anyway, i hope you will continue to get more views and upvotes. You got mine atleast ;)
Thanks for your kind words, man. But I still "feel" your frustrations. Please don't give up. You'll find almost every facet of everyday life here within the pages of Steemit. Political voting, circle jerking, favouritism. It's all here to see and I consider it very much an eco-system of it's own. But Steemit is also still extremely young and, more importantly, growing in vast numbers on a daily basis. Please realise that, given enough time on this platform and forming so many connections with other users, it's almost impossible to keep tabs on everybody's blog. That's pretty much unavoidable. Though the stand-out people are the ones who have transcended into more of a "brand" on the platform (pertaining within the realms of Steemit of course). And that's where the term "reputation" comes into play.
Here on Steemit, people vote for people. When they get the time (especially with blogs like mine that take time to read and aren't loaded with images. Hence the title of my post.), who's to say they won't marathon through your blog down the line? At least it's there for when the time does arise, right? I mean, does it matter if people discover your blog today, tomorrow or next year?
Sorry to go on, but I do feel passionately about this and need people to understand the machinations of how Steemit works. Too many new users get disheartened when the results they envisage are not delivered within the time period they expect. Patience is a key ingredient to your success on this platform. And I honestly hope you persist and find your true worth on Steemit.
Have faith, buddy. It will work out on here if you want it bad enough.
Cheers man, will continue going. I am not giving up that easily. And whether i 'make it' here on steemit or not, i am still learning a great deal from writing and researching for my posts anyway. Would be honored if you would look at one if you have some time and give me some feedback. If you like of course. Already happy you are taking the time to respond to what i sent to you today anyway. Will follow you going forward. Good luck.
The feeling of under-appreciation does weigh on many authors (like myself). Do share those techniques, they would be very helpful.
Hey there, buddy. Just hang in there. As I always say, the first thing you can change and improve is yourself. Success will follow. Keep pushing and everything will work out. :)
This outstanding post of yours will be featured on my latest issue.
You're doing great @ezzy
Please check out my issues. Even though i create my own, it's not enough because i suck honestly. however i put great posts like of yours to create mutual benefits to me, to you (authors) and to my readers and Steemit.
Hey buddy. Thank you very much for the heads up and considering featuring my post in your blog. All the very best and will be keeping a close tab on your work from now on.
Great stuff... Bless. :)
Thank you very much @ezzy! Here it is
Steemit Digest Issue #4