Two weeks ago, I had lunch with a writer who I met a few years ago when I was teaching at a conference for teen writers. That lunch is the reason why there’s a new article on the website today, so if you’re excited about fresh content, you can say, “Thanks, Claire!” (Claire is not her real name, but I want to protect her privacy.)

Claire loves writing and has worked hard to grow in her craft for several years now. Along the way, she joined several writing groups and took writing classes that promised her a lot. That they could teach her book writing secrets, that they could make her successful, and so forth. While some of the groups/organizations were valuable to her, some made big promises they ultimately couldn’t deliver on.

If you stick around the writing world for very long, you will notice that a lot of fiction writers also teach about writing. There’s a couple reasons for this. One is that we love writing and love to share what we’re learning with others who also love writing. Another reason is that making enough money to live on from your books alone is incredibly rare. Teaching about writing opens up another revenue stream.

There’s nothing wrong with writers getting paid for their knowledge and skills, but please beware of any kind of organization/writing teacher/community that promises any of these things:

• They can show you an EASY and FAST way to write a novel. 
• They have unlocked the secrets of insert-social-media-platform-here and they can teach them to you too!
• They can turn you into a bestselling novelist with their eight week (or multiple year) program.

It is incredibly easy to think, “If I just sign up for this, I’ll be so much closer to my dream of being a traditionally published writer!” And what makes the whole thing really confusing, is that there are wonderful writing teachers out there who offer classes, courses, and communities that really might be worth your money. I’ve paid for writing conferences, paid for classes, paid for critiques, paid to be part of various organizations, and a lot of times, it was worth the investment. 

But no teacher can make you a success, and you are not one class away from achieving all your writing dreams, regardless of the testimonials they have on their website or Instagram account.

Go Teen Writers has never made much money (though our writing books do pretty well) and part of that is because making money was never the primary goal. The goal was honesty, encouragement, and community for young writers. 

Our value of honesty means we’ve always acknowledged that writing a book is hard, and we can’t make it easy for you, though we’ve sought to make it easier over the years. Jill, Shannon, and I would all say things like:

Writing a book is hard work.

Editing a book is also hard work. (I think it’s even harder, honestly.)

Writing and editing a book that’s publishable is even harder than those first two.

None of that makes you want to throw money at us, does it? That’s why you don’t see many writing classes entitled things like, “Writing a book is hard and I can’t promise you success.” Nobody wants to pay for that.

But honesty is just part of what matters to me as a writing teacher. I also care a lot about encouragement, so here’s the other half of what I still believe:

Writing a book is hard work … but you can absolutely do it.

Editing a book is also hard work … but you can figure it out. If you can write a book, you can learn how to make it better too.

If your work isn’t as good as you want it to be yet, you can learn how to make it better.

I know you can, because I figured out how to do it, and if I can, I know you can too. I’m living proof that tenacity matters more than talent. I’ve been a published writer since 2009, and I’m happy to pass on what I’ve learned along the way. I’ll continue to share resources that I find valuable and ideas that work for me with the hope that they will make your writing life easier. 

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Until next time, here are resources to help you with your writing goals:

Write Your Novel and Edit Your Novel

Recommended Resources for Teen Writers

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Stephanie Morrill writes books about girls who are on an adventure to discover their unique place in the world. She is the author of several historical young adult novels, including the Piper Sail Mysteries and Within These Lines, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, as well as a YALSA 2020 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick. Stephanie also encourages the next generation of writers at her website, GoTeenWriters.com, which has been on the Writer’s Digest Best Websites for Writers list since 2017. She lives in the Kansas City area, where she loves plotting big and small adventures to enjoy with her husband and three children. You can connect with Stephanie and learn more about her books at StephanieMorrill.com.