photo © copyright by Carol Bergman 2021
from Becoming a Writer:
Anyone can publish these days but how do we know when we have written something worthwhile? Where is our audience and why would this imagined audience want to read what we have written? Does it matter? Shall we continue writing regardless of financial success or recognition? What does it mean to be a writer, to follow the path of admired writers, and to lead a sustainable writing life? This book will attempt to answer these questions. It is my hope that both students and experienced writers and mentors will find my suggestions useful. They are well tested; I've been a working writer and a teacher for many years.
I have chosen to use "becoming" in the title for several reasons. Most of us who identify as writers, and are published, were not born writers: we learned the craft, practiced and revised until, one day, our manuscripts reached what I call "fruition." They were ready for submission somewhere—to an agent, a publishing house, a self-publishing company, a blog, a newspaper or a magazine, online or print. We felt ready and sent our work out. And we continued—and are continuing in the present continuing tense—to learn and improve.