Art by Alison Hunt
We have about a month before Do I Need to Use a Dragon? goes live. I’m doing 3 teasers a week in June, so I was wondering what to do on my usual teaser day. Well, the book is about advice. There are 4 sections and 4 Tuesdays this month. Let’s see what people have to say about their own experiences.
- What is the best advice you’ve received as an author?
- What is the worst advice you’ve received as an author?
- How would you creatively describe what it’s like to be an author?
Legends of Windemere 
The best advice I got was to finish whatever I was working on before letting anyone read it. There’s plenty of time for critique after the first draft is done. The worst advice I got as an author is the way to get noticed is to continue to write books. I found that advice simplistic, and in today’s publishing world, it just doesn’t work. My creative description of what it’s like being an author is to ask you to imagine what it is like to be an indentured servant to your craft. In spite of heat, cold, hunger, thirst, and health status, you must keep putting words together in a logical way and create stories that people will want to read.
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That is very good advice. I made that mistake once long ago and it caused me to give up for a year. It is sad that simply writing books isn’t enough. Having a massive library of creations no longer means anything. Great description.
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Yes it is sad. Thanks I’m glad you liked the description.
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1. If you receive feedback that doesn’t cause you to feel excited about working on your novel, ignore it. This was after a workshop where some of the feedback was caustic and discouraging.
2. Don’t use slang, as if trying to sound like a kid. Um, how else can I express voice in a novel for kids?
3. I don’t know how creatively I can express it. 😊 Some days it feels like heaven, other days, it feels like hell.
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1. Excellent advice.
2. That’s an odd one. Did they know that you were or could end up writing for kids?
3. That covers the lifestyle pretty well.
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1) What is the best advice you’ve received as an author?
Don’t travel/buy ads/etc. to publicize a book, if you can’t afford them. Worrying about $$$ sucks the joy out of your art. Also, don’t try to strut in like a rock star unless you really have the chutzpah to carry it off. Readers are looking for authenticity in an author’s presentation more than razzle-dazzle.
2) What is the worst advice you’ve received as an author?
Suggesting revisions that chase a market trend rather than strengthening the work as it is.
3)How would you creatively describe what it’s like to be an author?
It’s like dreaming while you’re awake, and trying to write that dream down while it’s in progress.
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1. I learned about that money one the hard way. Still worry about it though because of society’s need to financially justify activities.
2. That’s a fairly common suggestion. Didn’t realize how many people wanted authors to write what’s popular instead of what the enjoy.
3. Fully agree.
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The best advice was to just finish. Stop flitting around with half projects and finish something. Worst probably came from an early critique group that met twice monthly for pizza. They wanted to turn my plots in different directions as they would write them. I’m a firm believer in the Muse. She shows up when things are calm and quiet. I can bait her with various news feeds during the week that focus on the weird crap I write about. (I am one of those with a large catalog, and can attest that does not work. Does anything work?)
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That’s some advice that a lot of people should take. I’ve run into that critique group problem so much that I avoid them now.
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Me, too.
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