Three Practices That Made Me a Successful Writer
Advice from one of Medium’s largest publication owners.
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At seventeen, I made an important decision. That was, to go against the grain of what’s expected from seventeen-year-olds, decline my offers to go to university, and pursue a career as a writer.
Naturally, I had no idea where to begin; zero credentials, absolutely no experience, and a couple of irrelevant GCSEs.
My decision incited a fair amount of resistance, both from my family and my teachers. I was warned against carving my own career and strongly urged to pursue further education in order to land a stable job.
“What is a stable job?” I asked.
Perplexed, my teachers didn’t really have an answer, since the idea of a stable job is simply a myth. As we know, many people with so-called ‘stable’ jobs found themselves unemployed and destitute when covid ran riot.
That wasn’t for me, I decided.
So, I hopped onto UpWork, applied for a tonne of freelance writing gigs, and landed my first client. The pay was terrible, but I didn’t care. I was getting my foot in the door.
That was the beginning. Since then, I have:
- Built a publication with over 500,000 monthly readers.
- Written thousands of articles for hundreds of different businesses.
- Established a globally-stocked print magazine housing some of the world’s bestselling authors.
- Charged clients as much as $1 per word for my work.
- Coached many aspiring writers, teaching them how to mimic my success.
Multiple years and a few hundred thousand pounds later, I’m happy with where I am. In this article, I want to share three tips that’ll help you to get here, too.
Qualifications Are Irrelevant
When my parents were younger, a university degree was incredibly respected. If you had a degree, you were going places, and high-paid work would always have been available to you.
Today, the degree is becoming increasingly obsolete.
