You're Not a 'Real Writer' If You Do This

About this video

Dale pushes back on gatekeeping lines like ‘you’re not a real writer if you use AI’ or don’t hire a professional editor. Drawing on his own hobby music, he argues authors write for different reasons — full-time, part-time alongside a job and family, or purely for love of the craft and the achievement of finishing — and that a published book alone can be someone’s definition of success. For hobbyists who want to level up without much friction or expense, he offers five areas to consider, using good/better/best options: make the best content possible and take your time, edit carefully, handle interior formatting, invest in cover design and author branding, and network. He details a low-cost editing workflow using Word’s editor, a grammar checker and text-to-speech, plus outside readers, author swaps or a professional editor, and discusses DIY versus premium formatting tools versus hiring out, affordable cover services versus hiring his sponsor, and networking as building connections with like-minded authors, readers and community members.

Key takeaways

• Dale rejects ’not a real writer if…’ gatekeeping and says full-time, part-time and hobbyist authors can all be legitimate with different goals
• First priority he gives is making the best content possible and taking time rather than rushing to publish
• Editing should involve multiple passes — software editor, grammar checker and text-to-speech — plus an outside reader, swap or professional editor for constructive feedback
• Interior formatting and cover/branding can be DIY, done with premium tools or affordable services, or hired out, with cover design singled out as worth spending on if money is available
• Networking — connecting with other authors, readers and the community — is presented as one of his best resources, easier than ads or featured deals

Episode details: published November 8, 2024 · 18:27 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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