On being a neopro

[eimarra]

What’s the difference between being an amateur and being a pro? There are all sorts of definitions. From most permissive to least:

The Olympic Standard: You have been paid for your work, so you’re a pro.

Breaking Through: You got paid pro rates for at least one story.

Stamp of Approval: You’ve sold three stories or a novel to a pro market, thus qualifying for a professional organization (SFWA qualifications; other genres may differ).

Going Strong: You’ve passed the SFWA requirements and even sold a fourth short story, thus disqualifying you for the contests for beginners, including Writers of the Future.

One of the Gang: You start feeling like a professional.

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Notice what I did there? Feeling like you belong comes last.

Right now, I’ve had three pro acceptances, and when that third one is published, I will join SFWA. I’ll keep submitting to Writers of the Future until I have a fourth published short in a pro market. But am I a pro?

Ha!

I’ll accept the label neopro, which basically says “good enough to get published at this level occasionally, but still wet behind the ears.” I’ve got a couple of friends who think I should do panels at cons. Seriously? Who’s going to listen to my advice when there are people who’ve been doing this for years? There’s nothing I can say about writing that they won’t say, and probably more cogently. I’m still learning, and I’ve got a long way to go.

I might have moved up to the big leagues (maybe), but I’m still spending most of my time on the bench . . . which reminds me, I need to get back to writing.

Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[eimarra]

Thanks, Ed. And I will volunteer to do panels. I think it's like when I was debating whether to start up my own Website with a blog to be my professional face, and I was struck by Impostor Syndrome. Who did I think I was? But I did it, and I'm comfortable with it now. (Easy enough with a small audience, growing slowly.) I'm sure this will be the same. Thanks for giving me the push and the pep talk!

Oh, and this is one more reason why I like writing. In school, when we did track, I could do one or two hurdles, and then I crashed. At least with this (as long as I don't do something flagrantly stupid), no hurdle will be a permanent setback. ;)