There’s no right or wrong way to write a book. BUT if you’re a plotter like me who needs structure to avoid mind meltdown, The Snowflake Method, by Randy Ingermanson is for you.
I’ve adapted it a few times over the years to make it work for me, so here’s my take…
5 Book Pitch Tips for Beginners
How the hell do you pitch a book?
I’ve pitched my book four times now, two on Zoom calls, one in real life, and once on email. So if you’re an old pro at the pitching game this article might not be for you.
But if you’re brand-spanking new to the game, here’s your chance to learn from the rookie mistakes I made starting out, so you don’t have to.
Read more5 things I learned on a Creative Writing MA
Spoiler alert: No, you don't need to spend thousands on a degree to be a writer. But I did! Save yourself the pounds and read the 5 key lessons I learned about writing a book >>>
Read moreHow I changed career at 30...
Cambly is a great platform to kick-start your tutoring career, but before long, you’ll want to be able to set your own fees and progress. Unlike conventional teaching, there’s no career development option. You’ll never manage a department or a school. In short, it has a shelf life.
So, what’s next?
The good news is teaching gives you tons of transferable skills. It taught me patience, humility, time management, negotiation, improved my communication skills, pushed me to be more creative and brush up on long-forgotten grammar rules we learn at school!
Above all, it enforced my passion for storytelling. There’s so much we can learn about life through fiction.
If you’re an English tutor, who loves English but you have squeezed all you can out of online tutoring, here’s what I did next while I was MIA from YouTube to make my dream of becoming a writer happen…
1) From English teacher to… student
If you want to go down the traditional route, you can return to education to hone your skills. I completed my masters degree in Creative Writing.
To be accepted, I had to write a story excerpt to apply. Not everyone gets accepted on the course, but I’d say knowing your genre and being clear on your voice is important. My specialty was writing for children and young adults.
A course like creative writing is specific: instead of a dissertation you submit the 1st three chapters of your book. I got some valuable feedback that I took onboard to make some important changes.
Of course, a qualification isn’t a must. For me, the imposed deadlines helped. If you’re strict to your own deadlines you can learn about structuring stories online. You can even build your own community of writers to get feedback. With education, the experts are ready and waiting for you.
2) From English teacher to…temp
There are plenty of successful entrepreneurs online who’ll tell you how they were practically a brain surgeon through the day while they honed their side hustle at night. But let's be real, most of us aren’t built like machines. And if you can’t burn the candle at both ends, like me, know it is still possible to be disciplined and shape your own success.
I got a temp job in admin that I knew wouldn’t take much brain power, because I’d done it before. And I didn’t want to use my brain power for anything other than my degree and my book.
The money was bad! But it was during lockdown, I wasn’t spending anything, and could focus (as best as I could in a pandemic) on my degree. The money is a sacrifice some couldn’t make, but it paid off for me in the long run.
3) From english teacher to… freelancer
Growth in anything you do is a continual process. You can’t do your degree and then stop stretching your brain, sadly.
After I graduated, I started freelancing as a copywriter alongside my job to boost my income and hone my skills. It was a great side gig with an agency that paid every week. I learned practical writing skills, such as optimising blogs for SEO. I also took an extra mini course on this, which you can sign up for at a hugely discounted price here.
4) From English teacher to… copywriter
Luckily, after failing one interview, 6 months after graduating I got my dream job as an in-house copywriter, and was soon earning +£10k more than before my degree! This meant effectively that the degree will have paid for itself in the first year of work.
Although I wasn’t fulfilled in my previous job, I only applied for jobs that excited me. I was only going to move for my dream job, because the effort to go elsewhere, even for more money, would have been wasted energy.
Was a masters a requirement for this role? No, but our company values ‘doing everything with passion,’ and when talking about my degree (and time as a teacher) I could prove my passion for English and writing.
5) From English teacher to… Author
Since then I finished my book! It’s being read by beta (test) readers ready for me to make some final edits and start sending to agents, so hopefully one day soon this can read ‘from English teacher to… published author.’
Do you need a degree to write a book? Hell no, but for me, the expert guidance and peer feedback (and the threat of deadlines) were a must. Whatever it is you want to do after Cambly teaching, get it clear in your mind, trust that your skills are transferable and this experience is something to be proud to talk about, commit yourself to any extra work you need to do
This is a little different to what I usually talk about and I’d love to know if it’s useful to you. Do you teach for the freedom to travel, or do you have a passion for English you want to explore? Is writing a book on your bucket list?
In the coming months I’ve got tons to share with you about setting up as an online teacher, but I’ll also be sharing more about my writing journey away from teaching. If that’s something you’re keen to learn about, sign up to my weekly emails - I promise I won't be bombarding you with rubbish, you’ll just get a little reminder every week about the latest video.
Where my story began...
My time at the writing school really helped me think about my ‘why.’ Anyone can write a book for fun if they want to, but for a story to be publishable, there needs to be a reason for it. Your character needs to go on a journey and come out the other side a changed person to the one you sent in.
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