So, you want to become a successful author. Great! Well, where do you start? You might think that you need a two- or four-year degree in English Literature or even a degree in Creative Writing, but you’d be wrong.

Not to say that education is not important. On the contrary, I believe education is extremely important, especially K-12. However, it seems in recent years that unless you are going to be a doctor, lawyer, or the like, a formal college education seems like a waste of money. Lots of money.

…the average US worker’s income has increased by less than ten percent in the past thirty years, while the average cost of a college degree has risen over 500%--that’s greedy, corporatization of higher education bullsh**. —Dan Cummins

If your job requires a degree in English or Journalism, get one. But to be a published author, you don’t need one. Writing is an art. Certain people have the innate ability to captivate readers with their creativity and voice. It comes naturally to them. Others, not so much.

So, what can you do? There are several ways to become a successful author without a college degree. Like anything worth it, it’s going to take time and effort on your part.

1. Define “success”

What does success mean to you? Success is different to each person. For some, being a successful author means merely having your book in print. For others, a successful author is one who can quit their day job and make a living solely off their writing. For more still, it’s having thousands of social media followers loving their blog. Figure out what your definition of success is.

2. Read, Read, and Read Some More

Let’s say you want to write genre-fiction. Whatever genre you want to write in, read books (current and past) of that specific genre. Reading is an important part of being a good writer and the more you read, the better you will understand certain aspects from not only a reader’s perspective, but a writer’s perspective as well. The majority of writers are avid readers. We love stories. That’s why we write them.

3. Research

Ah, the dreaded research. A lot of books on writing say the phrase, “write what you know” and while that is important, with today’s vast technology, you don’t really have to know everything you write about. Not right away. That’s where research comes in.

So many tools are available to us today that make learning new things easier and, the best part is, they’re often free. Search engines like Google can help you explore the lore of certain mythical creatures to better write about them in your novel. What do they look like? Where did they originate from? What’s the culture of the people where this certain mythical creature originated?

Perhaps you are fantastically creative, but you lack some basic English and Grammar skills. Well, you can find that information on the internet also, as well as in books at your local library, or bookstore. There are many books out there that can help aspiring writers with writing basics for far less than the cost of a college tuition.

4. Be Present—Social Media is King

There’s no two ways about it, social media rules our lives. While not entirely a necessity for being an author, having a presence on social media can help get your name out there, and there are a variety of social media platforms to choose from. The big two are Twitter and Facebook, but there are so many more to explore. Check them out and find a platform that’s right for you.

Tip: DO NOT make an account on all the social media platforms available; you will wear yourself out trying to keep them all updated and interact with your followers. If you overexert yourself worrying about all your social media accounts, you won’t have any time left for writing, which is what you wanted to do in the first place. Pick a couple and stick with those to start. If they aren’t working for you, choose another to try out instead.

5. Put Yourself Out There

I know that it’s scary to send out your work. It is essentially being judged. The fear of rejection bites us all in the behind. When querying your work, do not let the fear of not listing a college degree in the letter shake your confidence.

Let your writing speak for itself. You’ve come a long way. You’ve read your contemporaries. You’ve researched. You’ve sat down and written something amazing. You put time and energy into your writing, and it will show.

Now, do not get discouraged if you are rejected. Most writers get rejected at some point in their writing career. I, myself, have been rejected many times. What to do in these situations is find out why you were rejected. Did your writing just not fit with where it was submitted? Does your query letter need some work? Don’t be afraid to ask the agent, magazine, or publisher why they chose to pass on your work. In fact, they will often leave you a reason in the rejection letter. Take what you learned and use it to grow your writing.

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow Sheila M Johnson on Twitter @authorSMJohnson.