The best writing advice ever is the advice that comes from our own writing experiences. Authors, agents, and editors can talk left and right about the best and worst ways to do things in the publishing world. But it all comes down to one truth: What works best for you?
I blog about what I like, what I don’t like, what I think works, and what I think won’t / doesn’t work. Just because some things work for me doesn’t mean they will work for you. The same is true for advice that you see on the blogs and websites of others. Just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean it will work for you.
At some point in your writing career, you have to stop reading advice and try something. Do something. Whether you test advice given to you by others or whether you decide to go your own way, just do it. Take a chance, take a risk, and remember whatever you do, you are the one who has to deal with the consequences, both good and bad.
A few things to remember while you’re on this grand adventure we call writing:
1) There will always be someone willing to take your money and your words and leave you with nothing.
2) There will always be people giving bad advice while believing they know everything there is to know about the industry.
3) There will always be a few gems of good advice hidden among the bad and things that are repeated by multiple agents, authors, and editors tend to be those gems.
4) If you don’t write and you don’t submit, you’re not going to get published.
5) The super-secret password / handshake / club card does not exist, but if you pay me a million U.S. dollars, I’ll create one just for you. I just don’t guarantee it’ll do you anything but look cool. @=) (See # 1).
What all my advice boils down to is this: Write. Write more. Write even more. Then edit, rewrite, and submit. Lather, rinse, repeat. That’s how we get published.
