*I am a published short story writer, author and have been a professional developmental book editor since 2013. I also interned for a literary agent for almost a year and have taught writing and book editing at writers’ conferences such as The Southern California Writers’ Conference.
**Small mention: My wife (!!!) Britney has started a Substack! It’s called WHAT WE FIND WHEN WE LEAVE. Full disclosure: She writes the posts herself but does get editing help from Chat GPT. She doesn’t identify as a “writer” per say but wants to get her ideas and thoughts out to people. Her stories are quite inspirational, powerful and moving!
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1. ROUTINE: You need to find a regular writing routine. I don’t care if it’s at 3am for twenty minutes or 6am for an hour or 10pm for 15 minutes. Ideally it’s an hour or more every day. But just be regular about it.
2. PATIENCE: Especially if you’re writing a novel or nonfiction book: Take your time. Trust me. Rushed writing is very rarely quality writing. When you finish that first draft…there’s still a lot to come. In fact, that’s when the “real work” begins.
3. HUMILITY: Get honest. Be realistic. Your book is not going to be the next bestseller. You are not the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King. Most writers won’t get an agent. Most won’t ever be traditionally published. Almost none will make any substantial money (or any money at all, often).
4. MAINTAIN ARTISTIC INTEGRITY: Don’t be one of those people who bend over backwards to write a safe, “Woke” character or a woman character who automatically has to be a radical feminist, etc etc etc. Let the writing take YOU for a ride. Write what feels honest, true and real. Don’t change your writing, your style, your characters or your voice because of The Market, agents, literary trends, etc. Aim for universality and complexity. (You’ll fail…but aim there.)
5. HIRE AN EDITOR: No, that editor doesn’t have to be me. But someone. Check out Predators and Editors for scam-checks and The Editorial Freelancers Association for lists of respected editors and also best practices. You don’t have to go broke. I hired a former Random House book editor for my YA novel and she was excellent; she cost me less than $1,000 and she worked with me on and off for eight months. After her I finally started getting agent requests for the manuscript. *If you can’t afford an editor or simply don’t want to hire one: At a minimum ask some trusted friends for honest, objective feedback.
6. ACCEPT THAT WRITING IS REWRITING: The first draft is just that…the FIRST draft. There will be many more to come. Trust me. I know it might feel finished…but trust me, it’s not. Not even close. And kill kill KILL those darlings.
7. READ OFTEN AND WIDELY: It amazes me how many self-proclaimed “writers” (usually on the younger side) I have met over the past decade who admit openly that they either don’t read books or very rarely do. Instead they “do” TikTok, podcasts, etc. If you take yourself anything like seriously as a writer…READ. The best way to start writing is by mimicking the classics. Joan Didion did this a la Hemingway novels. Hunter S. Thompson did it, too. If you’re writing fiction read some classic Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson to get started, etc.
8. DON’T BE OVERTLY POLITICAL: In your writing, I mean. Sure, novels create worlds filled with characters which are based off human beings which are inherently political. But that is very different from overtly diatribing politically in a novel. Readers are smart and very sensitive about being insulted, pushed in a certain direction, and we can smell bias and an agenda from a mile away. Lean into richness, complexity, nuance, diversity of opinion, etc. Create characters who feel true-to-life, authentic, three-dimensional. (People aren’t all one political “thing.”)
9. ACCEPT THAT WRITING (TALENT) IS INHERENT: Look, it’s just my personal opinion; take it or leave it. (Or read this piece here.) What I mean is: In my view you’re either A Writer or Not. You either possess that ability fundamentally or you don’t. Writing—the talent—cannot (again, in MY opinion) be “taught.” Writing is much more than squiggles on the page; it’s a sort of X-ray human vision, a particular kind of sensitivity, a way of understanding individuals and society, a specific sort of spiritual need, a type of beautiful, dark wounding. A teacher can help bring your innate talent out…but if you don’t have that mysterious “It” to begin with you won’t ever have it. (Again, just my own opinion.)
10. DITCH PERFECTIONISM: Just let that puppy fly! That’s the joy of the first draft. Allow yourself—give yourself permission—to unhinge from your anxiety and worry and fear about what “others” might think and just put the words down one by one. At first, it’s all for you, anyway. Do it for yourself. In later drafts you’ll rewrite and revise for your readers. A novel is like a living document; like the U.S. Constitution; it changes, evolves and grows over time.
Right on!
#9: Talent is inherent and rare. Absolutely. But many people have 1 good work of art within them (if they dedicate themselves to making it): the culmination of their examined life experience. It's that 2nd book that separates the talented from the not.
#4: Artistic integrity. Yes. But make sure you cameo books and the agony of writing; NY Central Park or any of the NY landmarks/icons/zeitgeist that NY editors like. These references appear like clockwork in most modern American novels...I throw up in my mouth, just a little bit.
Well done Michael. Thanks for the tips—I needed a few of them 👊