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Advice from Writers about Writing and Publishing
Posted by Cynthia on July 9, 2018Jane Yolen, author of The Devil's Arithmetic
“I always listen to critiques, but never take them in whole. Early on I learned to read the readers. Everyone reads a different story than you put down. They read it with their own baggage in tow. Even good readers, even the greatest, even editors, especially critics. So take what you need from their advice, twist it to your own needs, move on. In the end, it's the story that will tell you what to do but you have to listen.”Susan Ee, author of Angelfall
“Try to get into the habit of writing every day. Freewrite to exercise your story muscles (write whatever comes to mind without filtering and without judging). Take creative writing workshops and get feedback from other writers in your classes.Read a lot of books that interest you. Write the stories that interest you regardless of what kind of stories your teacher or classmates prefer. If they love literary slice-of-life vignettes but you love epic adventures, write epic adventures. You’ll find your true audience later.”
Joseph Delaney, author of Revenge of the Witch
“Keep a notebook and write down all your ideas (don't edit your ideas but record everything), read widely, observe the world around you, persevere, develop a thick skin and make sure you write as much as you can.”Tami Hoag, author of Ashes to Ashes
“Write something you love, and learn as much about the business side of being a writer as you can before you try to publish. It's not enough to write a good book. You need to know where it will fit in the marketplace, what publishers you should target, and so on. If you want to be a professional you have to learn about the profession. And lastly: be resilient, adaptable, and determined. This is a tough business.”Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
“My advice would be to be smart about how you're targeting the people you are querying and to do your research ahead of time. There are strict rules about a query letter. Read up on them, seek out agents who represent the work you write (looking up the agents of writers you are similar to is a good start), and be confident about your work.”Shayla Black, author of Wicked Ties
“This may sound simple, but you should approach writing a love story (or any story, really) from the heart. Get to know your characters and their conflicts well, figure out what’s keeping them apart, how they need to grow as individuals and as a couple to live happily ever after, then discern what events must transpire for them to start the process of changing and melding together. If you know them well enough to answer those questions and you’re listening to them as you write, making those transitions that slowly reveal the emotional growth in the story will be as natural as breathing.”Paul Tremblay, author of Head Full of Ghosts
“I think write-you-know is a bad, awful advice. It should be write-to-know or write-to-want-to-know. Anything you write is going to have pieces of you in there, regardless. You don't have to work at that. You (the general you) will never grow as a writer if you're not willing to take on story ideas or characters who different from you and your experience. The best fiction comes from that challenge. Most of the stuff I write is me trying to learn about the people in the situations I put them in. I want to know what they will do, what decisions they will make and why. Starting from a place of empathy (not sympathy); I want to understand.”What's the best advice you received about writing and publishing? Share it with your fellow authors in the comments below!
Next: The Business of Being a Writer: Turning Attention Into Sales
You might also like: Marketing Advice from Young Adult Author Jenni James
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 54 (54 new)
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Benjamin
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Jul 09, 2018 07:57AM
![Benjamin Appleby-Dean](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1508408824p1/35493877.jpg)
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![David Hodges](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1540817218p1/88631294.jpg)
![Sophie Writes](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1607358369p1/90533377.jpg)
My sentiments exactly!
![N. Keith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Sophie Writes](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1607358369p1/90533377.jpg)
So true, N. Good luck with your second book! :-)
![Denise Keustermans](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1478240690p1/55039369.jpg)
![Julian David Thomas Lee](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1603155856p1/90409957.jpg)
![N. Keith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
Thanks Julian for that comment. I've been disappointed that I've sold only about 30 of my books. But each one that has read it has enjoyed it immensely and shared great reviews about it. So it makes me happier knowing I improved someone's day by them reading it. Thanks for that uplift.
![Julian David Thomas Lee](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1603155856p1/90409957.jpg)
Thanks Julian for that co..."
I have only sold 2 copies, because 14 copies were free during giveaways. So you did better than me. Good for you!
![N. Keith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Julian David Thomas Lee](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1603155856p1/90409957.jpg)
Mine has only been out for 4 months
![N. Keith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Julian David Thomas Lee](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1603155856p1/90409957.jpg)
No, I don't have facebook. My mom does and I got a few people to read it that way
![Sophie Writes](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1607358369p1/90533377.jpg)
The best writing advice I got was, keep writing, don't stop after the first book! In addition, read, especially in the genre you're writing in. It's so easy to get carried away with how many sales we get/or don't get with our first book, but I think it's important to use our first book as a litmus test, to test out our writing skills so to speak. Our first book is not going to be our best work – it’s our first attempt at creating a book and putting it out there for the world to read! The more we write the better we get at it and that's what we should strive for as authors. I know that it's tough starting up as a self-published author, and that's why I'll continue to support my fellow self-published/ indie authors! Keep up the great work and keep creating! :-)
![Michael Zuniga](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1550277903p1/93495333.jpg)
![David Hodges](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1540817218p1/88631294.jpg)
David Hodges
I received an ad from NABE asking if I wanted to submit my book for the 2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards - for a fee/buying a membership of course. Has anyone done this? Results? Worth the money?
![Marilynne Adams](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Ralph Griffith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png)
I know how you feel. I wrote and published my first book at 71, while I was babysitting full time for a baby for 4 years. The writing was easy, the book was good (so say my friends), but I could not afford the time or $$ to schlep around and promote it! Every place I tried was a dead-end. Every suggestion for ways to promote the book cost hundreds of $$. Even this site (GR) cost more than I had to spend, and, again, I am on the back pages. I am on the verge of giving up. I have two more books written, but unless this one sells more, I can't afford to keep trying. Frustrated.
![Marilynne Adams](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
Thanks Julian for that co..."Promotion is the hard part. I don't know what else to do to sell my book. I seem to be on the "back pages" of all the book sites, so if people don't know the name of the book or my name, they aren't going to be able to find it.. Seems like if you have tons of $$ to spend on promotion, you can sell it. If you don't, you are dead in the water.
![Max Kont](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Luka J. Riek](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1558189659p1/40508859.jpg)
![Etain](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1563695484p1/97278954.jpg)
![Stan Singh](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1562269648p1/99414804.jpg)
![Stan Singh](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1562269648p1/99414804.jpg)
Well said Etain...I do not at all have expectations for a lucrative financial returns...it is an expensive hobby in which I get the contentment.
![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
![Madhurima Jain](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1566641921p1/101617225.jpg)
You have put it down so beautifully! I agree completely.
![Madhurima Jain](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1566641921p1/101617225.jpg)
![Elizabeth Cart](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1572113775p1/93001849.jpg)
![Allen Olen Howard](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1567552726p1/79515119.jpg)
goodreads to all, Allen Howard
![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
Thanks! Hope you found it helpful :)
![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
Thanks!
![Jane Abraham](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1574978935p1/103101397.jpg)
![Sarojini Pattayat](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1375703190p1/17964155.jpg)
Thanks a lot.
I am inspired reading you all.
![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
So often I am asked, where do you get your inspiration. I always reply that my inner voice is my source. The source of my inner voice is my higher power, if you believe in..."
This is so interesting. I use a combination of both techniques.
![Jane Abraham](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1574978935p1/103101397.jpg)
![Jane Abraham](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1574978935p1/103101397.jpg)
![J. A.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
Currently reading about 6 ebooks to review. Where do they go when I am working on review draft?
![Dana Holland](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1625532909p1/56147244.jpg)
![Ralph Griffith](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png)
Hello Marilynne, You need to go to Amazon!! You can publish in all formats and Amazon walks you through the whole process and the prices aren't astronomic!!
![Raletta](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
![Glenn Ashton](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1586463608p1/40045082.jpg)
![Madiha Jamal](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1608803239p1/45601492.jpg)
"You don't need words to write, you need a creative and innovative mind which directs you to plot your thoughts on the paper, no matter how sloppy the writing gets. Keep plotting your thoughts and one day these will make a perfect structure and ultimately your identity. "
![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
![Smith_Anderson](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_25x33-ccd24e68f4773d33a41ce08c3a34892e.png)
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![Suzy Davies](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1612566288p1/35066775.jpg)
Thank you, Madhurima!
![L.Asioli](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1587560928p1/110931429.jpg)
Gostei muito desses dois comentários sobre meu livro 'Cordas do amor", em algum momento a leitura os cativou. Pessoalmente vendi 6 livros. L.Asioli