Not quite sure why I blog at all when there are blogs as good as James Moran's around. If you're an unpublished author, wondering what you're doing wrong, please, please, read it and follow the advice in it. Your future fame, fortune and everything else depend on it.
The only things he fails to mention are boots, chocolate and sparkly wine, but I reckon he has all the other publishing essentials down there. Oh, and he forgets to tell you not to put toffees or photos of you naked in with your submission, but he's probably never met anyone stupid enough to do that. Whereas I have.
Thanks to Daniel Blythe for pointing me towards James' blog. Daniel is another writer who knows what he's talking about. He earns a living as a writer, so he must be doing it right. Gestures of admiration.
Well done, guys! See, you don't need to wear sexy boots to give writing advice. On the other hand, maybe you do wear sexy boots. Wouldn't like to make gender-stereo-typical assumptions.
OK, woman, quit while you're ahead.
8 comments:
I'm simply not prepared to receive literary advice from someone sans sexy boots. Period.
ooh yay another blog! thanks!
It's so brilliantly non-nonsense that I had to recommend it. He's especially good on the whole "conspiracy"/"system" side of things which new writers get so hung up on. His fireman analogy is brilliant!
One thing puzzled me a bit. James mentions people not having to pay £200 for script critiques, and talks about places which do them for around £30. I had a quick google and they do indeed exist, although I do have to wonder how on earth anyone can do them so cheaply. I realise he is talking about 90-page TV scripts and I'm doing 300-page novels, but as far as I'm concerned £30 barely buys an hour or two of a professional's time - of any sort. To do a full critique and report on a novel requires two or three days of dedicated work and I price accordingly. You'd expect to pay in three figures for a big boiler repair or a plumbing job, after all...
I like no nonsense blogs and advice. Right now, writers are getting advice thrown at them from all quarters: promote yourself, attend workshops, look at self-publishing, get on Authonomy...yadda yadda yadda.
At the end of the day, just get down to basics. It's all about the writing - write every single day, have the tenacity to keep on trying, you will get better.
Thanks for the link, Nicola.
I have also created a 'how-to' post for newbie writers. It aims to answer all the most common publishing questions with a variety of helpful resources. If you have questions, check it out:
Do you know what you don't know?
~Sarah
http://sarahgarrigues.blogspot.com
Nicola: Thank you for the link! You're too kind, and your blog is fantastic, will mention it in my next post.
Daniel: Entirely correct, the script critique is a lot quicker and easier, as they're usually more slimmed down and less dense. A novel critique would take much longer and cost more, and rightly so. And that's probably why adaptations are tricky, as there's so much more to a book than a movie...
Hello James - my pleasure, and thanks for your comment. Glad you sorted that out with Daniel, who is quite rightly holding out for fair pay!
Donna - I totally agree. There are too many people who think they're only unpublished because they don't know the right person, haven't been on the right course/joined the right group, don't look right, are too old etc and basically that the World Is Against Them. 99 times out of 100 they just haven't written the right book well enough.
Oh crikey... but what IS the right book? :)
Post a Comment