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That Content Mill Will Suck the Life Out of You — But You’ll Be Grateful
Advice to my younger self: the earlier you start paying your dues, the better. But get out before it kills you.
If there’s one piece of writing advice I could give to my younger self, it’s this: find a way to write as much as possible, with firm deadlines and editors critiquing your work. If it’s a soul-sucking content mill, so be it. Get the money and the practice, but get out before you burn out.
Necessity is a great motivator
After around 25 years of dreaming about it, 2020 was the year I became a writer. I had worked as a ghostwriter, but when it came to producing something of my own, I was too scared. I had never really referred to myself as anything other than an ‘aspiring’ writer, either. It just seemed like something people much smarter and more professional were, not a description for lost souls like me.
What made me change my mind was necessity, as it always is. I was in a tough situation. I was completely broke, living on the other side of the world from my entire family, in a country experiencing 50% annual inflation. If you’ve never lived somewhere with an unpredictable economy like Argentina’s, I’ll tell you it’s not easy to budget your…
