It’s no secret that many writers find inspiration and ideas in everyday life and seemingly ordinary encounters. But smart writers take this skill a step further by thinking outside the box to find potential career-building opportunities! Writer’s Relief can help you identify unexpected ways to boost your creative writing career:
9 Outside-The-Box Strategies To Further Your Creative Writing Career
Chat up a stranger. You may be used to chatting up your book with people in your critique group or sharing with other writers at conferences, but don’t discount other people you randomly meet. You never know who has a skill, a need, or a contact to further your writing career.
Leave your writer’s business card. Tack your business card on message boards at the library, college campuses, and bookstores to advertise your skills or simply share your author website. A helpful or influential person may pick up your card!
Submit your work for publication. When you submit a poem, story, or personal essay to a literary journal, your number one goal is to have that work published. But getting your work published is only one of the MANY career-building benefits that can happen when you submit your writing to a literary magazine. See how here.
Need help submitting your work? Writers who regularly submit poems, short stories, and essays dramatically increase their odds of acceptance! Learn more.
Share your writing with others just for fun. Email your contact list a witty essay or a new poem to brighten their day, lighten the mood, or just to say hi. Some of those people may hit the forward button. Or post a short piece on social media that may be shared over and over again. But keep in mind that sharing your writing this way could result in its being considered previously published.
Volunteer in a literary capacity. You’ll get your name out there, meet more people, and be associated with strong writing and a generous spirit. You can also offer to read (maybe YOUR book) to children at the library, or organize an event where kids read to shelter dogs.
Offer your writing skills. Many people aren’t comfortable writing or don’t have the time. You can offer to write a press release for the opening of a local business, write a grant proposal for a nonprofit, or even write a speech for someone with an upcoming speaking engagement.
Guest blog. Approach a fellow writer, or pitch a sample blog post to a company whose website falls a little flat.
Monetize your innate editing skills. Offer to critique, edit, or proofread a fellow writer’s project. Word of mouth may keep you busy as a freelance consultant, editor, proofreader, or manuscript review specialist.
Showcase your writing in other venues. Write Yelp reviews, letters to the editor, reviews of Amazon products, and book reviews on Goodreads. Use your real name and make sure your letters are well informed and your reviews really stand out—clever, insightful humor is especially welcome. Who knows, you may land a job as a food critic!
As you go about your daily errands, keep an eye out for ways to promote yourself as a writer, and maintain an opportunity mindset—the next person you meet…the next person you help…the next person who sees a business card with YOUR book cover on it…might provide the writing career boost you’ve been hoping for.
QUESTION: What is the most unusual way you’ve boosted your writing career?
Will definitely be trying these. Thank you.
Any tips of volunteering, particularly with children?