5 Noticeable Signs You’ve Graduated from Amateur to Pro Writer

What does it take to graduate from amateur to pro writer?

You may be wondering if you’ve done it yet. Maybe you think you have but you haven’t, or vice versa.

Here are five signs you can watch for that show you have left the amateur behind.

Amateur to Pro: What Are We Talking About?

First, let’s make sure we are on the same page in terms of what “pro” really means.

In many circles, becoming a professional means you’re making money with your skills. But in this post, I’ve left money out of it.

That’s because you can be a pro writer and still not make money—or very much money. There are many amazing writers out there who are still working other jobs to make ends meet. In fact, most writers don’t live on their writing alone.

Some writers engage in different types of writing to make a living. They may work as journalists or freelance writers during the day and make the lion’s share of their income there, then pen their novels and short stories in their off-hours.

Many teach writing on the side, while others have different types of jobs that have nothing to do with writing.

Whether you make money or how much money you make writing isn’t the point. In this post, I’m talking about reaching a level of achievement in your writing career where you’re considered a skilled expert, and your work has reached a high standard of excellence.

According to the Human Resources Professionals Association, “The original meaning of professional derived from the Middle English profes, an adjective meaning having professed one’s vows, which itself derived from Late Latin professus, past participle of profitēri which meant to profess, confess. The idea was that professionals were those who ‘professed’ their skill to others, and ‘vowed’ to perform their profession to the highest standard.”

With this in mind, here are five noticeable signs that you’ve gone from amateur to pro.

Amateur to Pro Writer Sign #1: You Have a Regular Writing Practice

Pro writers don’t wait to be inspired. They don’t write sometimes, then give it up other times, based on whims or life events.

Pro writers have a regular writing practice. How that practice looks may vary. Many write almost every day. Others write every other day, or for several hours every weekend. Some are seasonal writers—they write for six months, then market their work the rest of the time.

Whatever the schedule is, they stick to it. They may have their patterns interrupted as everyone does. But they return to that writing practice again and again because that’s what they do: they write. Month after month. Year after year. No matter what.

(For more on finding time to write, see Overwhelmed Writer Rescue!)

Amateur to Pro Writer Sign #2: You Have a Lot of Writing Behind You

You may have heard of the “10,000-hour” rule popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s blockbuster book “Outliers.” According to Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours of intensive practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials, like playing the violin or becoming a pro writer.

The actual number of hours each writer needs to graduate from amateur to pro varies. For me, it took seven novel manuscripts (some completed, some not) before I finally landed a traditional publishing contract. That’s a lot of pages and files filled with failed attempts.

Talk to any pro writer and they’ll have the same—stacks of early stories that went nowhere. These stories weren’t worthless—they were practice. Everyone one of them helped those writers go on to become better writers and eventually, graduate to pro.

How many hours or words or stories will you need to complete? No one knows. The point is to expect that you’ll need to pay your dues. Don’t be overly eager to claim your first, second, or even third novel is the next bestseller until you’ve done the work you need to do.

Amateur to Pro Writer Sign #3: Your Writing is Being Recognized

For most writers (though there are always exceptions), there is a gradual process to go through in terms of getting feedback.

Friends and family are likely to be always encouraging. Others—agents, editors, contest judges, reviewers—will judge the story on its own merits. Early writing attempts often receive a few encouraging comments, then many more on what’s not working, along with suggestions for how to make the writing better.

These early critiques are usually painful but necessary if a writer is to improve. We must be willing to face the flaws in our writing and get the education we need to improve them.

If we do that, then gradually the feedback changes. We get more positive comments and fewer negative ones. Our stories begin to place in contests, receive better reviews, and be chosen by agents and publishing houses.

You’ll notice these changes in your writing career when they begin to occur. They usually arrive after years of hard work. But one day you’ll look around and realize that hey, people are starting to recognize your writing. It feels great, and it means you’ve graduated to pro.

Amateur to Pro Writer Sign #4: You Focus On The Work

Amateur writers focus on all the trappings of the fantasy writing life: the cabin on the lake, the adoring fans, the celebrity, the hours to ponder ideas, and all the rest.

Pro writers focus on the work—whatever story they’re working on at the moment. Their primary goal is to make the story the very best story they can and to devote themselves to completing it first and foremost.

Sure, pro writers love to hear good comments from readers. They love royalty checks, and they fantasize now and then about having a cabin on the lake (or by the ocean).

But pro writers indulge these thoughts for a short while, then get back to work. For them, the process of writing is where it’s at, and they are committed to the craft above all.

Amateur to Pro Writer Sign #5: You Notice Significant Changes for the Better

Beyond all these noticeable changes, keep your eyes out for one big one that is very personal: the feeling that hey, you finally know what you’re doing.

This realization can come about in several ways. Maybe you land a publishing contract with a really good publisher that you never thought would look your way. Maybe your story wins a contest, receives an excellent blurb, or sells a lot of copies. Maybe you finish a book and know that it’s your best yet.

Or maybe you find yourself stepping in to help other writers by mentoring or teaching workshops. Maybe when a young writer asks you a question you realize that you have a good answer. You help a friend or family member with a writing issue. Or you take a look back at your early work and can see how far you’ve come.

This realization comes at different times for all writers. But when it comes, you’ll know it. Just don’t try to rush it. Keep writing, submitting, and learning. As long as you do that, one day that pro version of yourself will show up.

Have you noticed signs that you’ve become a pro writer?