How to become a writer in London — All you need to know to start a career
When I envisioned ‘becoming a writer’ I imagined sitting in a café, or even a garden shed, working on a specific project, which would be my own. And this quaint vision was how I’d become a writer. Now, I realise this was naïve, and frankly, it was wrong. If you want to become a writer in London, this is what you’ve got to do, and this is what it might look like.Let’s start by ruling out a few misconceptions. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way: these are common mistakes when starting a career as a writer.I will write one particular thing and have one path. ❌ Being a writer is multifaceted. I used to imagine myself working on one particular project and that would make me money. In reality, my writing tutors stressed to me that you don’t make enough money from selling novels to survive (unless you’re one of the lucky few), which is why many writers teach the craft as well as practice it. My writing career looks like this: writing for a tech company to pay my bills, and working on freelance projects for a little extra pocket money, as well as doing plenty of unpaid fiction work for my portfolio (oh, and I almost forgot, this blog). How you divide your efforts might look completely different though. I need a background in writing. ❌ You don’t, what you need is some evidence that you can write. Whether you learned to write from a university degree, or from doing lots of your own reading (and writing) it doesn’t matter. Just build a portfolio, and once you’ve proved you can write using good grammar, a sharp editorial eye, and a fitting tone of voice, then you’ve demonstrated your skills. Now to prove what value you’ll bring to a company.
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