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The WRITE Manifesto

The WRITE Manifesto. By Lisa Lowdermilk . So, you’re graduating this semester with a Bachelor’s degree in English. So, you’re graduating this semester with a Bachelor’s degree in English. .

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The WRITE Manifesto

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  1. The WRITE Manifesto By Lisa Lowdermilk

  2. So, you’re graduating this semester with a Bachelor’s degree in English. So, you’re graduating this semester with a Bachelor’s degree in English.

  3. You—like thousands of other students across the country—are about to transition to the next phase of your life. You know that you will not find a job nearly as easily as the STEM students. You don’t know how you’re going to support yourself financially or why you thought it was a good idea to risk everything for the one subject you’re truly passionate about…

  4. STOP

  5. Write down a list of all the companies you’d like to work for. Visit each one of their websites, and read all of the job descriptions carefully. Don’t even skip the job that requires three years of management experience (which you don’t have).

  6. Feel your heart race, your palms sweat, your hands tremble. Acknowledge that this fear is not going away any time soon. And then…

  7. STOP

  8. Find something you’ve written recently—something you’ve shared with friends, family, or teachers. If you’re lucky, these people have spread your words to other people. People halfway across the world could be reading or hearing about something YOU wrote. You know that dream you had when you were a kid about being in two places at once? Well, now you can live that dream through your words.

  9. Now, go back to those job postings, but instead of staring at the qualifications you don’t have, let your gaze settle on phrases like “Excellent written communication skills required.” NVRfrgt u hv those skllswhn so mnyothrpplcont 2 rite sntncslkths 1.

  10. And you don’t just communicate; you EMPOWER people. You can convince people to buy the house of their dreams; you can make them laugh at the quirky slogan you created; you can even give patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment hope. Go ahead: add “mind control” to your list of superpowers right under “bilocation.”

  11. “But all the jobs I’m looking at require qualifications I don’t have,” you protest. “How am I ever going to get three years of management experience, five years of editorial experience, or even just a year of work experience?”

  12. STOP

  13. If you don’t qualify for the jobs you’re looking at, contact the hiring managers and inquire about internships. And while you’re at it, mention your 4.0 GPA, that proposal you wrote in technical writing, and anything else which shows what a hard worker you are.

  14. Use both of these strategies repeatedly with every job you find, even jobs which don’t have the word “writer” in the title.

  15. That’s right: you may have to accept a job which doesn’t make full use of your superb writing skills.

  16. But that does NOT give you an excuse to stop writing. You majored in English to satisfy your need to write. And until you satisfy that urge, you are going to be very unhappy indeed. So…

  17. STOP

  18. Write that novel, blog, or review your voice is screaming at you to write. And once you’ve written it, write some more. Eventually, others will take notice of your love of writing and realize that you deserve to be heard. Maybe then you’ll get paid to do the one thing you’re truly passionate about:

  19. WRITE

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