By Emmanuel Udom

The coming into existence of computers and the internet has indeed reduced our world to a global family. Every profession and vocation has therefore gone online.

These days, it is common to hear words like e-commerce, e-books, e-banking, e-governance e-relationship and of course, e-marriage.

This is indeed a digital age, where with a click of the mouse, you can successfully seal a business deal; get information, network for friendship, marriage etc.

Reflect deeply on what I am about to tell you here. Are you a medical doctor, business person, journalist, fashion designer, plumber, teacher, entertainer, computer expert, entrepreneur, or even a pastor or an Imam? The truth is that regardless of your profession or vocation, you and I are marketers.

The bottom line of our networking, daily hustles, bustles and runs is to market our knowledge, talent, skill, passion, products, services, or ideas. Therefore, with the internet in place, the entire world has become our marketplace. Geographical location is no longer an issue.

Let me now zero in on you, as an aspiring writer, if you are not yet one. It takes a burning passion, focus, discipline, pain and a raw, determined spirit to work towards becoming a world-class writer.

Writing is not, has never been and will never be a piece of cake, or tea party. Ask those who have attempted times without number to write an article, a book, a novel, a script, and documentary or a research paper.

Why do you want to be a writer? This is a personal question that you alone should answer, not me. There are a thousand and one reasons why people aspire to write for the public. I am sure you can list some of the reasons.

However, you as a writer must add value, benefits, information, education, and insight to your readers to remain relevant.

In this computer age, it is not about writing to impress but writing to sell. A writer is a marketer, just like the sales representatives, who go from place to place to market their products or services.

Writers are not expected to move from one locality, state or country to the other. They are expected to sit down and graft quality, promotional articles that will attract traffic (visitors) across the globe.

To graft goes beyond writing to impress. You have got to get the right words and carefully build them into powerful and attractive articles, books, scripts and documentaries.

In my e-book: How To Make Money As A Writer, I have outlined some of the steps budding writers must take to bring their dreams of becoming world-class writers to fruition.

Let me pause here and say this. If your aspiration as a writer is to make quick money overnight, I suggest you drop the idea. Like every legitimate business, it takes pains, commitment, focus, passion and determination to grow your business. Becoming a world-class writer is not exclusive here. Ideas come before money. So, your income from writing will come in trickles and grow with time and

The Basics

As a writer, you are aspiring to publish quality, attractive content for your clients and readers.  Whether you want to write hard copies, or e-books, or post your articles on blogs or sites, there are some basics you must know that will help you in bringing your dream to reality.

Discipline

Nobody can achieve much in life without discipline. It has nothing to do with your profession or vocation. You must be focused, not easily distracted, organized and time-conscious to be a super writer.

Read Wide

Content writers are versatile fellows. Read everything and anything on your core, competent area.

The aim is to acquire more knowledge to write as an authority, even if you are a school drop-out or a PhD holder. This is the starting point for attracting visitors and ultimately the money.

Roadmap

It is one thing to aspire to become a writer. It is a different ball game to have a clear plan on how to move from where you are to where you want to be a world-class writer.

So, if you want to write content on fashion, engineering, journalism, business, entrepreneurship, and social media, that will sell and bring you money, you must first and foremost have a realistic and workable plan on the ground.

Challenges

You may not agree with me here. Most of the so-called challenges or problems that come to us daily are self-created.

Remember, I say most, not all. Take it or leave it, challenges are necessary for growth.

It is when you overcome challenges that you grow, not by avoiding them. People will try to discourage you when they see that you are trying to break away from the crowd.

Therefore, when n you make up your mind to become a writer, you have got to have this iron-like passion that no discouragement or run-down words from people could break. Great writers today were ones called all sorts of names by their friends, colleagues, family members etc.

Mentorship

Read the works of great writers and become inspired to be like them. But, there is a nag here. Do not at any point in time try to copy your mentor hook, line and sinker.

You must still the suggestions you receive from others to the test and see whether or not they tally with what you have in mind.

The late Dr Sunny Obaze-Ojeagbasi, the publisher of Success Digest, said: do not attempt at any point in time to copy your role model up to the point of losing your identity. He is right here.

Emmanuel Udom, a journalist and private investigator, can be reached at eeudom@yahoo.com