I published my first book when I was 23. Here’s what I tell everyone who wants to be a writer.

Phil Rosen

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“I’m thinking about starting a blog.”

I’d be a very wealthy man if I earned a nickel for every time I heard someone tell me this. 

People often approach me with this because, in 2018, I first cut my teeth as a writer through launching a blog on the advice of my college professor. 

It’s no exaggeration to say starting this website changed my life. I’m now a senior reporter at a global media outlet, and a two-time bestselling author. (Here’s my my most recent book.)

But for many months early on, I could count my entire readership on one hand.

I didn’t let that deter me though. I wrote one or two or three essays a week for two years leading up to 2020, which then helped me earn admission to a top graduate school for journalism.

Since then, my website has evolved further and I have hundreds more articles here, as well as a budding weekly newsletter with a highly engaged audience. Some of what I’ve written I am proud of; much of it I’d rather forget. I sleep well at night knowing that even the best writers have words they aren’t proud of. 

Writing is thinking in public

What began as a tiny travel blog evolved into a place for me to think publicly. That’s what writing is, after all. It’s a way to articulate yourself. The chance to transform floating thoughts into concrete words that people can read, analyze and critique.

On this site, I’ve written about my travels in Bali, Thailand and Singapore, but also about books, self-help, relationships and careers. I’ve sprinkled in fiction, too. But the specific topics matter far less than the practice and discipline of writing.

Right up there with a loyal dog, consistency is a writer’s best friend. It isn’t so much what you write that matters — it’s that you write.

When you know your thoughts can be viewed by others, you work to refine them. They get more specific. You learn to point them in a productive direction with nuance and care. That’s called improvement. 

All good writing starts poorly

But to get to the good stuff, you have to slog through the bad stuff — a lot of it.

You can only get good writing if you keep writing, just like water does not flow unless the faucet is turned on. Sometimes junk will come out, but if you never turn the dial in the first place, nothing at all can emerge. 

Before starting this blog, I wrote in a private journal.

I still do that today, but it’s separate from my public writing, and my journal isn’t where I improve. Switching to writing online sharpened my skills. Others read my words, provide feedback, and I improve. 

Writing publicly is how you improve as a writer. 

If I never transitioned out of private writing, I would never have been able to write a memoir or launch a career as a journalist. Private writing is comfortable because you won’t be criticized, but it is difficult to gain ground under cushy conditions. 

Overcome hesitation

My advice for people who want to not only write for a living, but for people who want to improve as a writer, is to begin writing online. Start with writing something that can make people think, feel or learn. 

Others must be included in the writing process from the start. That means you can’t allow fear of judgement to prevent you from putting pen to paper. These days you don’t need technical skills to have your own website. A blog, for example, free and provides you with your own corner of the internet.

Turn it into a habit so you write regardless of whether you want to. Treat it like an everyday activity so that you don’t miss days, and then you can feel productive about it when you write on the days you didn’t want to. 

I’d be so happy if everyone who has told me, “I’m thinking about starting a blog,” actually did it, and stuck to it. What a wonderful thing it would be to hear more people say they’ve done it, rather than are thinking about doing it.

If that were the case, a lot more writers would be closer to reaching their potential. 

Like most things, it’s simple but not easy. 

Start a blog. Think in public. Make writing a habit. 

Better to take action productively and then tell someone about it, rather than tell someone you are contemplating taking action. 

I’m an easy-to-please type. For someone to make my day, they would need only to tell me they started writing on a blog. 

Make my day, will you? 

I dig deeper into these topics and related ideas in Tip Jar, my weekly column delivered right to your inbox. You can join 1,600+ weekly readers and subscribe for free here.

My bestselling book, Life Between Moments: New York Stories, is available now on Amazon.

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