As I forge my way toward becoming an established author, I’ve discovered having mastered a skill often enhances your ability to learn another.
I’ve been a grant proposal writer for over twenty-five years. (Note: you usually hear this profession referred to as a grant writer. Not true. You’re writing the proposal, not the grant). So, who knows, maybe I should describe myself as an established author working to gain expertise in another writing style.
However I label my skill-building, the truth is I’ve gained traits and abilities that have helped me shift from technical to creative writing with the hope of one day earning the title of best-selling author.
What are those traits and abilities?
Ability to do as instructed. Proposal writing teaches you to carefully read and follow directions. Many funders explicitly state they will not consider proposals if the submitter does not follow imposed guidelines. Submitting according to the deadline is the most crucial. Extending the deadline date is only the funder’s prerogative. Other instructions to consider include the number of pages accepted, word/character count, and presentation (specific font style or size, spacing, margins, page numbering, etc.). These requirements enforce tight writing and inhibit rambling, which contributes to a stronger presentation. Like proposal writers, authors who plan to query agents and publishers are subject to similar requirements.
Research, research and more research. Presentation of sound proposals requires the ability to explain the need for funding, identify the target audience that will benefit and how the request meets the funder's focus or goals. Answering these questions often necessitates detailed evidence and/or assessments to support the request. Demonstrating having done your due diligence is a definite credibility requirement for many forms of nonfiction writing and oftentimes is used to make fiction more believable.
Rejection is not devastating. As a proposal writer, one learns to accept rejection. Receipt of grant funding depends on several factors and worthy proposals are often rejected for various reasons. Some of these include:
The number of nonprofit organizations has grown tremendously over the years, making competition stiff.
Many times, nonprofits that have board members or friends who are associated with the funder have a leg up on being chosen as an awardee.
Funders may claim to welcome all submitters but have favorites they’ve already chosen to receive awards. (Let’s face it. Though unfortunate, that’s the way of the world.)
An author’s submission may be publication-worthy; however, their work might be rejected because it’s not considered timely, their chosen agents may not be open to submission, or they simply can’t find an agent or publisher willing to take a chance on their work.
These hard-to-overcome scenarios teach proposal writers and authors to accept rejection and move on to the next opportunity in search of more favorable playing fields.
Patience is a virtue. Once a proposal has been submitted, the waiting game begins. Similar to submitting queries to agents or publishers, response time can be months. Not to mention, how exasperating it is to devote a substantial amount of time and energy only to find you don’t get a response at all. In addition, how long it takes for an author’s submission to actually reach publication is even more frustrating.
What’s in your favor? Having mastered these abilities has helped make my new career ambition palatable. Of course, it helps that I’m attempting this task as a retiree and don’t have to simultaneously contend with meeting financial obligations. I hope you will do as I did: treat your life as a business that becomes successful enough to allow you to pursue future goals without money and time pressure.
A very practical and informative explanation. Though the submission process is difficult for proposals and prose writing, Brenda gives hope.