Images/Photos/Quotes

If You Can Tell Stories…

Miss Poison Images/Photos/Quotes, Writing , , , , , ,

ifyoucan

I disagree. If it didn’t matter how you write, every idiot who thinks they’re the next J.K. Rowling would be published. Bookstores would be overrun with poorly written material that some idiot behind a desk thought would make money, as opposed to truly believing in a story or the author behind it.

Writing is a business. Once the manuscript you work your ass off on is submitted, it’s all business, you are not a person to these people. When someone tells you that your hard work isn’t marketable, even if you have an audience that would happily read it, it’s a let down emotionally. I know many people who’ve left a writing career due to a failed book, or a second manuscript not being picked up by their publisher, etc. They got fed up with the business aspect and decided to throw themselves into other creative endeavors.

I think the right people (those experienced in the individual genres people submit in, not a handful of people who make these decisions) should be reading the manuscripts that get submitted and pushing hard for what is truly good. I read way too many crappy stories from established authors who push out a book or two each year, and are clearly half-assing it. That 100% matters to me as both writer and reader.

10 Things People Say

Image Miss Poison Images/Photos/Quotes, Writing , , , , ,

10things

One of the best things I’ve ever heard (and I mean this in a truly sarcastic way) is “I’ve been out of work for eight years, so I taught myself how to write.” Really? For the record: I was taught better English and sentence structure in nursery school than this person has at 45, which just plain scares me.

Anyone has the ability to put words on paper or words on a computer screen. That’s a simple fact. However, having the talent to tell a story is an entirely different thing.

Writing is writing, but publishing is a business. Some of the best things I’ve read are from self-published authors who, many years later, were able to get published traditionally. Some of the most amazing stories I’ve read were written by people who wrote for the sheer pleasure of writing and never got their story published. Hell, I’ve read 2000 word blog posts that were more intelligently written than a great many New York Times Best Sellers I’ve been tormented by. Chances are, you have too.

Don’t ever let anyone belittle your ideas OR your talent. A word of advice; don’t share your ideas or your work with anyone until it’s finished and always, ALWAYS make sure that your work is copyrighted before you share it. Many people will not hesitate to steal your ideas, re-package them on your own, and be on bookshelves before you’re finished with your final draft. This happens to people, so I cannot encourage other enough to keep things close to their heart if they place true value upon their work.