You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins
Publisher/Year: Self-Published | April 27,2012
Pages: 77
Genre: Non-Fiction
Format: E-Book
Source: Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited
Summary (From Goodreads)
You Are a Writer is a book about what it takes to be a writer in the 21st Century.
Author Jeff Goins shares his own story of self-doubt and what it took for him to become a professional. He gives you practical tips for freelancing, how to get published in magazines, and what it takes to build a platform that brings the gatekeepers to you.
This journey of becoming a writer begins with a simple but important belief: You are a writer; you just need to write. Readers will learn the importance of passion and discipline and how to show up every day to do the work.
Here’s what else you will learn:
How to stop waiting to be picked and finally choose yourself What it takes to build a platform Why authors need to brand themselves (and how to do it) Tips for freelancing, guest blogging, and getting published in magazines Different ways to network with other writers, artists, and influencers The importance of blogging and social media and how to use it well to get more readers and fans of your writing You Are a Writer is a book that will help you fall back in love with writing and make the connections you need to build your brand as a writer. It’s about living the dream of a life dedicated to words.
And it all begins with you.
First Off…
I’ve been following Jeff Goins blog for a while now and finally decided to give one of his books a read. This one caught my eye so I gave it a try.
Thoughts:
This was a great read for anyone that loves writing and wants to do more with writing than a journal they keep under their bed. Goins takes you through a process of first recognizing whether you’re a writer, then helping you decide what to do about it, then helping you get started. Writers tend to have trouble claiming the title until others have acknowledged that you are a writer, and Jeff makes a great point that until you accept it for yourself there is no reason for anyone else to believe it.
Goins also doesn’t tip-toe around the fact: writing is hard. It’s hard to pound out pages and rely on whether others see it as good or not. He puts all the hardships you’ll have to face and all the work you’ll have to do on the front end. It peels back the veil that, I know I at least have, of what a writing life could be and what it really is.
A the end of it, it’s all about whether you love writing or not. If you don’t love to write and write because you can’t not, then maybe you shouldn’t be a writer. Because the odds are, you’ll eventually quite because it’s hard. Write because you can’t not write.
Quotes:
“Writing is mostly a mind game. It’s about tricking yourself into becoming who you are. If you do this long enough, you begin to believe it. And pretty soon, you start acting like it.”
“Before others will believe what is true about you, you’ll have to first believe it yourself.”
“Sometimes, your ideas aren’t as good as you think. Other times, the world just isn’t ready for them.”
10 Second Summary:
- Read if you’re interested in being a writer: This book will help you decide if you are and if you want to put the work into it.
- This is a dose of reality: Goins doesn’t try to play off being a writer as glamorous and having millions lineup for your autograph. It’s work, and if you want to be a writer, you have to do the work of a writer.
- Love writing: Most importantly it stress to write because you love writing. Not because you think it will be an easy paycheck. He helps you remember why you wanted to be a writer in the first place: because you love to write.
I don’t know if this book is in Hardback, but it will be bought in that spirit.