Podcasting “Breaking In”

Why you shouldn’t take career advice from successful writers.

This week on my podcast, a reading of “Breaking In,” my latest column for Locus Magazine. It was inspired by the writers who are just starting out and looking for advice on how to advance their careers — and my realization that I have none to give.

https://locusmag.com/2021/09/cory-doctorow-breaking-in/

After all, when I broke into science fiction, the web barely existed, the field was dominated by three print magazines, and the publishing, distribution and bookselling worlds were radically different in nearly every way.

When I was just starting out, I’d hang on established pros’ accounts of how they broke in, and it took me years to figure out that their advice on how to sell to dead editors at defunct magazines wasn’t going to do me any good.

Instead, I got my best advice from my peers — other writers seeking to break into the field, who were painstakingly comparing notes on markets, contracting terms, payment rates, and editorial tastes.

But established writers were important to me! The encouragement I got — some of it organized and sustained, some of it glancing and in passing — was hugely important in keeping me going in the long years while I struggled to improve my…