"Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window." – William Faulkner
Optimism. Yeah, that's right. Good, old-fashioned, stubborn optimism. Publishing is biased. Agents don't always go for skill or talent or promising careers. They choose books that they would like to read, but they also choose books that they know will sell. Yes, you heard me right. Agents aren't just readers. They're business people. They make … Continue reading Writing Rule #5
Ever feel so obsessed and eyeball deep in a story that you start writing and can't stop? It's only happened to me twice now. I get so wound up in my own story that I can't stop writing. This weekend, I pumped out twenty thousand words in a day. No, I'm not inflating that number. … Continue reading Obsession
In the publishing word, for a beginning writer, trying to pitch that debut novel, the odds are against you. Odds are, you'll get rejected. Odds are, you'll not find an agent. Odds are, you won't get published. Odds are, you'll not be a bestselling author. Odds are, you won't sell movie rights. In the words … Continue reading The Odds
