The Business Rusch: Writers and Business

This is a fascinating article about the business of teaching creative writing. As a novel writing tutor myself I believe the issues Kathryn raises are both pertinent and true. It’s vitally important to learn the hard graft aspect of writing and the business side. We’re fed all sorts of stories about overnight success and talent, when the truth is most successful writers have worked bloody hard to get where they are, and have had some stinging rejections and failures along the way. The key to their success is that they doggedly kept on trying, kept learning (this is vital) and kept striving to improve with everything new they wrote. And they take it seriously – like a job – putting in the regular hours, doing the homework and diligently sending work out into the world.
I believe the Whitireia Creative Writing programme does a pretty good job of helping new writers understand the need for work ethic, strategic thinking and diversity of writing – but this article is a good reminder to remain vigilant! I’d be interested to know what you think.