You Won’t Succeed As A Writer Because You’re Not Famous.

Last week our 40 plus columnist Claire Kenny wrote about learning the value of ‘normal’. But does anyone really want to read about real life? Especially if the writer’s not even famous.

If you’re trying to get traction on Instagram, you’ll know all too well that feeling that no one is listening. In fact it’s easy to wonder whether you should bother if you don’t have the means (or in my case the body) to commission bikini shoots under waterfalls, travel on private jets and fill your mansion with gargantuan flower arrangements.

The answer is of course a resounding yes. After all when you’re a writer, you simply have to write. Whether it’s a journal, a client website or an insta post, life just feels off without that creative outlet. We write to process things; to share our truth and to try to leave our tiny corner of the world that bit better.

People actually reading it is just a bonus.

When I told my daughter that I’d got myself in a bit of a blogging funk, she suggested that I write my way out of it. I then realised that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d written anything meaningful that wasn't for my clients!

It was a timely reminder that my love of the craft should trump anything else.

When I thought I’d almost cracked it

If you think Instagram’s tricky, meet its even more awkward cousin, print media.

Take it from me, this nut is even harder to crack.

After getting an article printed in the UK’s biggest-selling women’s magazine a few years ago, I was under the distinct impression that I was on my way to finally ‘making it’ as a freelance writer. I was very quickly brought back to earth after being told by an editor that my pitch for a second article was unlikely to be accepted because I “wasn’t famous, or married to anyone famous”. Although to be fair, it certainly reinforced the need for the ghostwriting business I went on to launch.

Then came the article I wrote for one of the big lifestyle glossies for free. When my second pitch was accepted and I felt more established, I negotiated a small fee and was then promptly ghosted after it was published. This was a highly successful magazine with several famous columnists – I wonder if they were ignored when they asked for their fee?

So it was back to square one. Or a square on my Instagram grid, to be exact. Because writing is writing, wherever you do it.

Social media isn’t all bad

To give social media its due, it’s allowed writers who would never previously have been seen or heard to have a platform and a voice. You might have a small following and feel like nobody’s listening, but think of your Insta or facebook account as a tiny, tiny garden; you still feel better if you cultivate it and make it a reflection of you. And you never know who’s peering over the fence.

I think the point of this article is to stress that whether or not you class yourself as a ‘proper’ writer, if it helps you feel good and brings meaning and fulfilment to your life, keep doing it. Never forget that something you write could change someone’s mindset.

The ability and bravery to share what’s in your heart and mind is also one of the few things left that’s totally free, and a privilege not everyone has access to.

And that’s worth a zillion likes and follows.

Claire can be found on Instagram at @my40pluslife.me