Is there a lot of competition?

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DystopianGypsy

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Hi,

Just recently I've adopted writing as a hobby, and I'm considering pursuing a career in the writing profession.

Is there a lot of competition?

I would imagine so, but all the same I had to ask.

Thanks. :)
 

jvc

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Yes. There is. A lot of competition.

If you are a great writer, great story teller, and have great balls of fire, then you'll maybe get published.

However, if you're a bad writer, can't tell a story, and have no idea what the 'Randall Principal' is, then you'll never make it as a writer.
 

DeleyanLee

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However, if you're a bad writer, can't tell a story, and have no idea what the 'Randall Principal' is, then you'll never make it as a writer.

Are you thinking of the Randall PrincipLE, by chance?
 

DystopianGypsy

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Sorry. I should have specified.

I'm interested in fiction (ex: novels, short stories, etc.).

Also, is there a lot of competition in the freelancing part of the business?

Thanks again.
 

DeleyanLee

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The basic answer is: Write because you love your story, because the mere act of putting words down is a joy to you and fulfills you in some way.

If that is true, then it doesn't matter how much competition is out there and you'll always be happy because you're fulfilling yourself and your story.

If you're writing as a career and expect to pay the bills straight off the bat, go get a job at McDonald's and flip hamburgers instead. MickeyD's will do better for you, won't tear your ego to shreds (as fast) and might even get you health insurance.
 

ChaosTitan

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I'm just wondering who has googled it yet :D

I'm not googling it, because I don't trust you. ;)


To the OP:

I don't really like the word competition. This isn't a battle, nor is it American Idol. You aren't competing against other writers. You are writing to the best of your ability and taking the next steps to sell it. If you can write a coherent sentence, string those together into interesting paragraphs, and write a story that is both engaging and comprehensible, then you are well ahead of the majority of folks who set out to write fiction.
 

EclipsesMuse

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Are we supposed to google Randall Principal or Randall Principle?
I'm just wondering....
 

Maxinquaye

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I have no clue what the Randall PrincipLE is, so of course I googled. There's a lot of choices, for instance... Lisa Randall's relaxation principle which show that under conventional (but higher-dimensional) FRW evolution, a universe filled with equal NUMBERS of branes and antibranes will naturally come to be dominated by 3-branes and 7-branes.

I doubt that this is it. :)
 

entropic island

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Oh, never mind...read ChaosTitan's post...although it contradicts my earlier statement, I agree with her.
 
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Rushie

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Randall's Catapult Hypothesis? Something to do with teaching kids grammar?
 

jvc

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Sorry guys, it was all a hoax. There is no Randall Principle, and no Randall Principal, other than the headteacher at my nursery school.

Yep, I'm that good :D
 

cbenoi1

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> Just recently I've adopted writing as a hobby, and I'm considering
> pursuing a career in the writing profession.
>
> Is there a lot of competition?

If you are considering quitting your day job to become a writer, then that's the wrong question. A better question would be "what does it take to earn a living as a writer?"

The answer may shock you.

-cb
 

litgirl

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Just be aware that writing as a career requires just as much work (for far less pay) than becoming a lawyer. It may not be measurable in university degrees, but it requires as much training and work as any other career. Miss Snark (google her, she is your friend) used to say that you shouldn't quit on a project until you've queried 100 agents. Are you ready to be told no 100 times? And some people write several books before they finally get an agent...and just because you have an agent is no guarantee that your book will sell.

Is there competition? You better believe it. A lot of the competition is people who can't string two words together. But a lot is due to the fact that there are only so many slots, and there are more excellent books out there than it is possible to publish in a year.

I'm not trying to scare you off, just point out reality. Publishing time moves slower than glaciers. There is not a lot of money in it. But if you love writing, if you can't stop the stories from coming out, if you don't mind revising over and over and over and over and being told it still isn't right, and going back again and again until finally do find the spark and get it right--if you are willing to undergo criticism and hard work and the chance that no one but you may ever read it in the end--then yes, write.
 
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Serious answer? There's no such thing as competition. Publishing is not a zero-sum game. There's room for all of us.
 
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