The Key to Unlocking the Door to Success

Communication is the key to unlocking the door to success. Believe it or not, you already have it in you. But you’d be surprised how many writers—in fact, how many people—cannot communicate effectively.

Writing is one of many forms of communication. Like listening, it requires a reader to digest the ideas provided by the words. Remember that old saying: "If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?" That could be changed to read: "If a writer writes down his or her ideas, do they exist if no one reads and interprets them?"

There are three parts to the communication process—the sender, who sends the message, the message, itself, and the receiver or the reader. If the receiver cannot understand part of the message, even one word, than there’s mis-communication.

This concept should be the basis for your writing. Using it is the difference between being a writer and a person who writes. Everyone learns to write in school. But most people don’t communicate well. Instead, they rely on the reader to interpret what they have to say.

This happens everyday on Facebook. Most Facebook users assume that they’re writing only to their close friends. Actually, most of them are really sending their posts out to all their Facebook “friends,’ many of whom they don’t personally know. Normally, they shorthand their posts, assuming their personal friends know what they mean. But those Facebook “friends” who don’t know don’t understand what they’re trying to say, thus mis-communication occurs.

As a professional, published writer, you must make sure that everyone who read’s your work understands it.

If you write articles for magazines, for instance, you already have a target audience—a defined group of readers based on the subject matter of the magazine. Most magazines today specialize in a particular subject, so you must slant your article to meet their needs.

However, if you write books, your readership is often undefined. Sure, some may argue that if you write a romance novel that only women of a certain age will read it. But in reality, what’s to prevent any reader from purchasing the book at a bookstore, a book sale, or even on Amazon. Chances are men won’t read it, but you never know.

So knowing who your reader will be is an important part of the communication equation. To be successful and get your work published, you need to write for a specific group of readers who will understand not only what you’re writing about but the words you use to do so.

Too many beginning writers write for themselves without considering who will read their work. Because of this, they fail to get published. Naturally, there are other reasons why they may have trouble getting their work published, but lack of communication is Number One.

Have you written pieces that have yet to be published? Get them out and read them again. Did you write them for a specific group of readers or just yourself? Changing the angle or focusing these piece better may still help you get them published.

Communicating Directly

Back in the 1950s and 1960s and forever before that, people looked at writing as something special. But in the realm of communication, it’s one of three parts— speaking, listening, and writing. If you look at writing from that perspective, you’ll see that whatever you write should be like whatever you speak. Readers are also listeners, except they listen to the printed page or screen.

Back then,  most people viewed writing as a formal activity not related to talking. That’s because that’s what they learned in school. Academics and a lot of business people like to throw their intellectual weight around, so they use big words and long, complicated sentences when they communicate. It says, “Look at me. I’m smarter than you.” Again, that’s because that’s what they learned in college. Intellectualism breeds more intellectualism.

If you listened to President Obama’s farewell speech the other night, you had no trouble understanding what he was trying to say. Write those words down on a piece of paper and they’re just as clear. You can say what you want about the out-going president, but one thing is crystal clear—the man knows how to communicate clearly with everyone. And as a writer, you should, too.

In today’s hurry up, chat and text world, many people have dropped their guards when writing, much to the chagrin of many working and retired English teachers. They say people are butchering the English language. But really, all everyone wants is to understand clearly what’s being said. And to do that as a writer, you have to write as you talk.

There’s nothing different between writing something like a blog and discussing the same subject in person. In the latter case, there’s probably a conversation going—a give and take. And that’s what you want to have with your reader. Online blogs and articles, as well as Facebook posts, all have a space at the bottom for readers to leave their comments. Sometime, you’ll see a lot of them. At other times, you don’t see any. Usually that’s because readers won’t leave a comment if they’re satisfied with what the piece said, but they will if they disagree with it.

Today, good writing is conversational writing—writing that reads and sounds like good conversation. The big difference is that the writer makes it go where he or she wants it to. The next time you sit down to write, pretend that readers are sitting across the table from you and then just tell them their story—only on paper.

A beginning writer is writing a memoir about a special time in his life. The word “memoir” may leave you with the impression that this will be a boring piece of writing. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Not only is it clear, it also includes such detail that it draws the reader into the story.

So a good resolution for this year might be to forget big words and write as you talk. Communicate directly with your readers. You’ll see an immediate change in how they react to your writing.

The 3C’s of Freelance Writing

Since probably from the time you started school, you’ve always associated writing with the ABC’s. But there’s so much more to it than just putting words into sentences. If you are or are planning to become a freelance writer, then you need to also follow the three “C’s”—content, communication, and commitment.

Sure, having a great vocabulary—especially of familiar words—is necessary for any writer. But assembling them into effective, meaningful content is the key. Impressing readers with words you use is one thing, but using those words to express thoughts that are clear and precise is another.

And not just any content will do. It’s got to come from the heart as well as the mind. You’ve got to have something important to say about a subject—even if other writers have said similar things. It’s your perspective on that subject that’s important.

Writing is communication. So is speaking. People communicate their thoughts and ideas to other people using either or both. The difference between writing and speaking is that in the former, the person uses only words. There is no gesture, body language, or voice inflection—there’s no visual or audible means of any kind. Whatever the readers gets from the words is all done by inference and interpretation.

In speaking, a person uses all those things. The listener, even if it’s only a voice recording, hears the inflections and the intonations. He or she hears the emotions.

The third and last of the 3 C’s is commitment. In order to be a successful writer, especially one who freelances, you’ve got to be committed t your work. That commitment goes beyond just a commitment to your writing. It also includes constantly improving your skills as a writer, being aware how others write and comparing your work with theirs.

But more of all you have to be committed to your readers, for it’s they who will make or break you as a writer.

Communication is the Key

Writing is one of many forms of communication. Like listening, it requires a reader to digest the ideas provided by the words. Remember that old saying: "If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?" That could be changed to read: "If a writer writes down his or her ideas, do they exist if no one reads and interprets them?"


This concept has been the basis for my writing, and it's what turned it into a career instead of a just an avocation. Most people unfortunately learned, albeit subconsciously, that what they had to say was the most important part of the writing process. No so. It doesn't matter at all what I have to say if no one reacts to it and gives me feedback. This can come directly from the reader, or it can come indirectly when a reader buys and reads not just one of my books, but several.

Have you written something that hidden under a pile of papers in a drawer? Dig it out and read it again. Were you communicating with the reader or just yourself?