When you love to write and you have a dream of becoming a successful published author, it can feel really exciting. But at the same time, you may not know how to get there. In a lot of cases, imposter syndrome can kick in, and you’ll feel as if you just can’t do it! But as with anything, you can put the work in and make it happen. Being successful in any field is always possible, but you need to make sure that you approach it in the right way. So, in this blog post, we’re going to take a look at ten different things you can look to do when you want to get your successful writing career underway. Let’s get right into it.

1. Read, Read, Read!

It’s said that one of the best ways to become a better writer is to read, and it’s true. Reading is such a great way for you to understand what types of writing you like and are naturally drawn to. You can also uncover what genres you enjoy, too. At the same time, you’ll also be picking up on writing styles and techniques that you can then apply to your own writing to help you become a better writer.

2. Practice Your Writing

At the same time, you also need to make sure that you practice your writing. If you want to write well and build a successful writing career, you need to write! Continuously working on your writing and looking to make improvements is the best way for you to do that. Your first piece might not be the bestseller you want it to be, but you’ll only be able to get there with practice.

3. Play Around With Techniques

Alongside that, you might want to start playing around with different writing techniques and exercises. As a writer, it’s important for you to find your voice. But how do you know how to do that if you don’t try new things? You might want to join a writer’s group or consider researching different writing techniques and challenging yourself to use them in different stories and pieces of work.

4. Be Careful With the Tools You Use

We live in a world where AI technology is making just about anything we do so much easier. In a lot of cases, it can be super helpful. But at the same time, it’s important to be careful with what tools you use. If you’re writing something technical or you even want a bio for your website, you might be tempted to use an AI writer. But the last thing you need is for it to look robotic or read badly. You can look at ways to make ChatGPT’s output sound more human or just use it for inspiration and then draft something yourself. The last thing you want as a writer is to be accused of not writing your own work, so it’s important to bear that in mind.

5. Start Your Own Blog

If you know that you want to write more, starting a blog could be a great way for you to do that. It can be on a set niche or interest, or even about life as a writer itself. Here, it’s all about giving yourself the opportunity to write more, work on building your voice, and have a space to just write!

6. Join a Writing Class

If you’re excited about growing your craft, you might then want to think about ways that you can expand your writing knowledge and abilities. Taking a writing class could be just what you need here. It might be a lot of fun for you, and you’re likely to meet a lot of like-minded people on a similar path to you. So, why not think about signing yourself up and see where it takes you?

7. Get Some Work Published

At some point, you may also want to test the waters and get some work published. It might be an article, a short story, a poem, or even a research paper. Either way, working on something to submit to a publication or journal might be exactly what you’re looking for right now. It could give you the confidence boost you’re looking for and enable you to get your foot in the door with your first range of published work.

8. Network with Other Writers

The writing process can be an interesting one. It’s also something that your loved ones may not really understand or be able to relate to. This is why having writer friends can be such a great idea. Not only can you have conversations with them, but you can attend events together and encourage each other in the writing process too. You also never know what opportunities making new connections might bring.

9. Find an Agent

If you know that you do want to publish a book and become an author in the future, or you have a finished manuscript ready to go, you may want to think about finding an agent. Getting an agent might seem scary or intimidating, but it can also be exciting. It’s also an important part of the process. So, get started with your queries and see where you get!

10. Be Positive and Optimistic

Lastly, you also need to make sure that you’re excited about the whole process and optimistic about how it’s going to go. As much as the tortured writer’s narrative goes back for centuries, it doesn’t have to be your story. In fact, you may find that being negative or feeling like you will never get an agent or be published is the number one thing that stops it from happening. Instead, you get to focus on the process of being an exciting one! Ultimately, writing your book gets to be an enjoyable process–so let it be. This is going to help you get into the frame of mind of being a successful writer and then bring it to life.