Read on Twitter
this is a really discouraging, elitist, & privileged take, not to mention it minimizes some really great content. what is “blogging?” it’s writing. everyone starts somewhere. the beginnings of my writing portfolio were on BlogSpot & MySpace. if you write things, you’re a writer. https://twitter.com/catvalente/status/1303729177867235333
and here’s why this is an extremely privileged take. most of the U.S. can’t afford to be full-time writers. it doesn’t mean they aren’t writers. every single freelancer I know grinds like a mfer to keep the dream alive. LOL at elitism in this economy. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/27/a-dirty-secret-you-can-only-be-a-writer-if-you-can-afford-it
so if you get to write every day as your full time gig, THAT IS AMAZING. but don’t be catty and demeaning towards those who are doing what they can to be what they want, with what they have available. That’s called RESOURCEFULNESS. start where you’re at, use what you have.
okay, I’m not driving so I can add what else I wanted to say — it’s great to be able to utilize the platform of a popular magazine or outlet, or to publish a book w a big publishing house, but don’t underestimate self-published content that lives on platforms like Quora & Medium.
there’s a certain amount of editing (and sometimes censorship, particularly for certain marginalized groups) that comes along with utilizing those platforms, especially if your work can be politicized in any way. when you self-publish, you don’t have to deal with that.
as a writer, tho I still get v excited about bylines — & that’s okay! — I’m more concerned w the value & takeaways my work provides my readers. IDK about you, but I’ve read some INCREDIBLY valuable content on Quora, Medium, & outside the confines & gatekeeping of trad. publishing
and if it wasn’t for “blogging,” I probably wouldn’t have a single byline that I have today, bc that’s how I rekindled my childhood passion for writing again: blogging, circa 2008/2009. value your starting points & launch pads. listen to Jay Z’s “My First Song.”
“Treat my first like my last, and my last like my first//And my thirst is the same as when I came...” (c) SC
Otherwise, my writing would have been confined to academic & clinical writing, if it wasn’t for the blogging I started doing as a hobby, for fun. There’s lots of other talented writers out there who don’t have platforms, visibility, or large followings...they’re still writers.
