Whether you’re a doctor, a taxi diver, or a hair stylist, every profession comes with its stereotypes and judgements. Some are good and some are bad. Writers are no different. Thus this blog post busting five popular myths about our craft.
1. Anyone Can Write
I’ve heard this so many times. Yes, anyone can grab a pen and write letters. Anyone can journal or write an essay, but it takes talent to write for marketing purposes. It takes someone special to captivate readers, to make them feel emotion, and to make them crave more. So no, not anyone can write. Being a writer is a calling that needs talent and skill, the ability to send 100 WhatsApp texts in less than 15 minutes doesn’t cut it.
2. We Only Write Books
The first question I usually get when I say I’m a writer is, “Oh, what type of books do you write?” Well, no type of book, because books aren’t the only thing that needs writing. I work in a very vast field where writers can use their craft for journalism, non-fiction, leisure articles, reports, marketing, etc. The list goes on. So no, we don’t only write books.
3. We Are Starving Artists
This ties in with my previous point. Everyone imagines writers sitting alone in the dark with a can of tuna and nothing in their bank accounts. I won’t go as far as to say we are rich, although I’m sure some writers are, but we aren’t starving either. We earn a regular salary just as anyone else does. The only difference is that self-employed writers pay more taxes.
4. Work is Abundant
There’s a whole world that needs writing, but we don’t all specialise in the same thing. What’s more, it’s not easy to find work with so much competition and new writers who accept whatever remuneration they can get. We need to work hard to keep our businesses afloat.
5. AI will replace us
I had my moment of panic but I’ve come to realise that no form of AI will replace us as writers. No machine can create a human connection and no machine can trigger emotion. AI cannot target content towards niche markets, and it certainly cannot sell a product in the same way a human would. There’s a whole blog post coming on this topic, so stay tuned for the next one!
