Joss Wood, author of the just-published Summerween, on how to survive a writing career.
Become a writer, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
What they forgot to mention was the hard work, the lack of boundaries, the self-doubt, and the tears. So many tears. The frustration. Thankfully, there has been lots of laughter too.
About fifteen years ago, I was offered a two-book contract. Clever me, I’d arrived. It can only get better from here. Hahahaha. What I didn’t realise was that I was standing at the bottom of the mountain, far too big for my hiking boots, about to begin the long, steep climb of a mid-list author.
As I write this, I’m working on my eighty-fourth book, with eighty-two traditionally published novels behind me. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two. Some lessons came easily. Some took years. Some I’m still learning.
Which brings me neatly to lesson number one…
Keep learning
I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, fast writer. Give me a vague idea, some characters and a keyboard, and I’m off. Fortunately, I seem to have reasonably good instincts about what works in a story.
I’ve also been a reader for as long as I can remember, and I think absorbed a lot about storytelling through osmosis. But instinct can only take you so far. Suddenly people (editors!) were throwing around terms like inner conflict, character arcs, goals, and other terrifying terms. I now own far too many craft books, have folders stuffed with articles I swear I’ll reread one day, and recently fell down an Instagram rabbit hole with someone explaining pinch points in a way that finally clicked. Point is, I’m still learning.
Writing is both art and craft. The art part is messy and instinctive. The craft part requires study, practice, and admitting I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m never going to master the craft of writing. And I’m very okay with that.
Writing is my career…
I spent two years juggling writing and my day job, and when I finally took the leap to become a full-time writer, I realised this wasn’t a side hustle anymore. And that my time at the keyboard has to be protected. For me, that means a routine. I get up, I get dressed, and I get to my desk by 7.30 AM. I don’t take calls or tolerate interruptions unless there is arterial bleeding or a margarita truck is parked outside. Working from home doesn’t mean I’m available for a chat or coffee or a quick errand. Writing requires commitment, focus and discipline. If I don’t take it seriously, how can I expect anyone else to?
Resilience and the hide of a rhinoceros…
Writing will sometimes hurt. Sometimes it will hurt a lot.
Publishing has a wonderful way of keeping you humble. There have been rejections, editor changes, bad reviews, agent switches and many days when I considered giving it up to raise llamas.
Failure is not an occasional visitor in this business, it’s a semi-permanent resident.
But I’ve learned to push through the bad—the rejections, the reviews, that awful dumpster fire first draft— and wait for the good. Oh, and there will always be someone who seems more successful, more celebrated, more everything than me. There are writers who started at the same time and place as me who now have six figure advances and movie deals. Yay for them. Truly. Comparing my journey to theirs is a spectacular waste of time. And I really try to be happy for people in their winning season, because I don’t know what they went through in their losing season. I wish them well, close social media and then I get back to work.
Social media and writing…
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think social media is the magic solution to all book selling problems. Can it help sell books? Sure. Absolutely. Can it help you establish a presence? Yep. Will it work forever? I don’t think so. Because nothing ever lasts forever. The algorithms change. Platforms come and go. Readers evolve and need something else. What worked brilliantly last year suddenly stops working, and everyone scrambles to find the next shiny thing.
When all the noise is stripped away, I ask myself: what can I control? That’s writing the next book. The best way to market a book is to write another book. Then another. Because word of mouth remains the most powerful and sustainable form of promotion and a backlist is the best asset. So while I do my best with social media, I try not to obsess over rankings, reviews, follower counts, or engagement metrics. That energy is usually better spent flinging black letters onto a white screen.
Find your writing tribe…
Writing is a lonely profession. Give writers a laptop, a deadline, and an internet connection, and we can disappear for weeks. And that’s why finding your tribe matters. The writing community is one of the most supportive—and occasionally feral—groups around. I was lucky enough to find my people: authors who cheer me on, share advice, talk me off ledges, and help spread the word about my books. I do the same for them.
Every weekday, I write with two writing partners, and once a month, I jump on a video call with four other writers. We spend an hour laughing, venting, celebrating, whining, and occasionally solving each other’s publishing crises. Nobody understands this job like another author. Who else can appreciate the horror of discovering a major plot hole at 70K? The dread of incoming edits? The sting of a rejection? Only other writers truly get it. Publishing may be a solitary career, but it shouldn’t be a lonely one. I found my people. I cheer for them. They cheer for me. The books matter, but friendships matter too.
Finally…
I love writing. I have to love it because publishing will always give me something new to worry about. But the story coming together, the thrill of hearing from a reader who connected with something I wrote, the fact that I gave someone a few hours of escapism? That’s my high. That’s why, fifteen years and eighty-something books later, I still feel incredibly lucky that I get to make things up for a living.
Is it hard? Absolutely. Will I keep doing it? Always.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a book to finish.
(c) Joss Wood
About Summerween by Joss Wood:
Welcome to Solstice Springs―where it’s Halloween year-round, pink skeletons wear beachwear, and the town’s biggest debate is whether the ghosts are real or just good for business
Wren Dunlop’s summer plan was simple:
- Hide from viral infamy ✓
- Drink rosé by the lake ✓
- Avoid all men forever ✓
Too bad her godmother (part-time witch and full-time Mayor) has other ideas.
Now Wren’s teaching dance for the Summerween spectacular, in a studio that might be haunted, and trying very hard not to notice the mysterious new guy in town, Dane Trafford.
Between bonfire wishes and midnight confessions, fairy lights and watermelon jack-o-lanterns, Wren and Dane might just discover that Solstice Springs’ real magic isn’t supernatural…
Order your copy online here.
And read more Resource articles on Writing.ie here.
