Hi!
IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR INDIE ARTISTS:
What’s the difference between the independent artist who spends all their brain power on trying to “hack the system” to gain more followers
and an independent artist who says whatever they want, whenever they want, how they want, with no algorithmic rhyme or reason and can still sit back and watch their career and audience grow?
If you think it’s “right place/right time” magical luck, you’d be sadly mistaken.
Or, if you’re certain *some* art is just more popular than others, that’s not it either.
If you’re guessing:
* they’d have to be famous…
* or maybe they’ve been working on it for decades…
* or they have a trust fund, so they can actually put time and effort into their growth strategies?
That’s a no, no, and absolutely not.
While some of these situations could potentially help, they’re not where real power exists. In all of those examples, the artist is still relying on outside forces of time, money, luck, or status.
But real power (life-changing power) isn’t built from time, money, luck, or status.
It’s built from attention. And what drives attention?
Writing that hooks.
If you could grow your career by using writing that hooks instead of chasing constantly-changing algorithms, would you finally take yourself seriously?
In today’s episode, I’m going to convince you of the power of writing that hooks AND I’m going to show you how to do it.
IN TODAY’S EPISODE, we’ll answer these questions:
* Why is writing the most important skill for indie artists?
* How does writing that hooks push your career forward?
* Why should I spend time on writing when I have so many other important things to do as an independent artist?
* How can I use specifics to quickly hook my reader?
* How does tension work in hooky writing?
* What do the 3-Act and 5-Act Structure writing models prove about writing that hooks?
* Why is my audience’s “repetition of ideas” an important part of my career growth?
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
😬 Using surprise and absurdity in Kinsley Vs. to create a hooky writing moment. David Gow and Lauren Karaman never cease to make me laugh-cringe-cry.
⚡️ Colin Corrigan’s “Attachment in Severance” from his fantastic Substack: The Story Energies
🔮 Octavia Butler’s essay “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future” from Essence Magazine, 2000
I'm offering a 1:1 experience for my fellow indie artists in April and May. These are the tracks available:
* Copy & Content Sessions: helping you craft noise-cutting copy
* Mastering the Release: designing a release campaign for your work
* Scene-Building Startup: setting up infrastructure for your indie career
We can work on one of these tracks two different ways: either a one-time private intensive, or a 4-week work sprint.
Curious? Let me know what you need here…
And I'll email you directly with what I think could help.
⌨️ Tell me in the comments: where do you think you can add more tension to your writing?
✨ If you like this episode… please consider texting it to a friend! ✨
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
queensbirdzine.substack.com
