One of my coworkers (who is not a writer) loves a book that says you must practice your art every day, and she got SO judgey when I told her that I hadn't written for a week because the day job got too hectic, and I needed to respect my mental well being. It took me months to let go of her judging my writing process and realize that my writing process works for me, and I don't need the approval of anyone else to use that process.
I hate this "practice every day" approach. It's most toxic across all art communities. It leads mostly to quick burnout. And even more I loathe of this BS books. They are praising this kind of BS and are usually written by guys who never worked in that specific field but consider themselves "career coach". And 9 times out of 10 said book was actually written by some poor ghostwriter... And they're failing at basic logic: in normal job you are not working every day, you're not going to school every day, so why on earth you should work on your art every day? Even if your art (either writing, painting, drawing, music, etc.) is your day job you are not supposed to do it every day. You have your weekends, vacation and sick leave in day job, right?
A buddy of mine just signed with Donald Maas, and the jealousy sure took over, because I wrote ten books and he signed with his second. BUT, he’s a great dude and I know how hard he worked on those books. He deserves it and I’m happy for him. Even support him with video and amazon reviews because I want to see him succeed. It’s hard sometimes but we have to cheer each other on
The best reason for writing every day: the more you write, the better you become at cutting. If you've only churned out 10,000 words this year, you're more like to see every one of them as precious. If you've written 100,000 words, you're likely to be more practical about what needs to be cut to make your work shine overall. Even writing a RU-vid comment like this keeps my writing skills sharp and muscles exercised. That's why I do believe a writer should write SOMETHING every day...even if it's only an email or detailed text to a loved one....
"Comparison is the thief of joy" is an adage I really take to heart. This insight and perspective you offer here is so great, thank you! I've been watching your videos since I was drafting my book, and in the querying trenches, and now I'm 5 months from debut and the reminder to enjoy the ride is really apropos. Y'all are swell.
I'm not embarrassed to say that I am a fair weather writer. I only write when I feel like it, never force your writing, which is worse than not writing at all.
"Butt in chair, write every day." I used to think that meant write on my wip every day and sometimes that's how it works. But I havent worked on my wip since July. That doesnt mean I stopped working. Research for my wip consumes my time and I've written short stories. Some days I just veg out and scroll facebook but usually I'm doing something writing related. Those days are successes too.
"Eyes on your own page" are words of wisdom. Also, be grateful. Love that you get to play in the word sandbox and create entire worlds out of nothing. Every book I complete, I'm proud of and hope will be the one that moves things forward. If not, then on to the next one. Why waste time feeling jealous or unworthy or impatient? Of course, we all do it, but the more we're aware of our negative mind games, the more we can thank those thoughts for stopping by and tell them to run along (hah!). Dwelling in them is soul-crushing. The clock is ticking. Eyes on your own page. Develop your craft. Embrace your talents. Move forward. Most importantly, celebrate this magnificent life in the biggest and smallest of ways every single day. ;-)
That second point was interesting to hear! Personally, I love writing and love my writing/editing process. James, it's interesting what you say about not liking writing but liking having written. Makes even more sense why you guys are so good at what you do on the agent end! The industry needs both parts, hidden heroes are just as important!
I really loved this video. I recently got some feedback that made me do some inner personal digging on my creative writing style, which led me to do some heavy studying of other peoples writing processes. There are a million and one different suggestions that people swear by. One of the ones that stuck out to me was to "write every single day." So, for the past week, I've been working on that. And I have to say, the difference in my forced writing vs. my spontaneous/inspired writing is painfully obvious. I find my best stories are the ones that come out of nowhere, from natural inspiration, and have no previous planning. I'm usually doing something else. Often, I'm sitting in the passenger seat looking out the window of the car, and I will get an idea and start writing notes on my phone. Other times, I'm playing in the garden when a creative idea hits. I think sometimes we try to force ourselves to do things out of our comfort zone in an effort to improve our skills, and while there is truth in that to some degree, I think a constant force out of your natural writing comfort zone can really take away some of the joy and spark of writing. That being said, if you have gotten feedback or a suggestion to try something new, I don't think there's any harm in giving it a shot, but if you try it out and it really doesn't work for you, trust your writing gut!
I just watched this while doing a tonne of admin around the book launch for my second picture book. The reminder at the end of this video to enjoy the journey came at JUST the right time for me. Thanks so much for that reminder! Now, I'm going to take a good long walk and write some emails in my head. THANKS! You guys are the best!
I approached this video with some trepidation, but the video was more inspirational than illusion-crushing. Plus the laughter at "It's one smooth road once you get an agent" was quite telling. (That said, still sticking with my critique group, for now.)
I’ve been doing this for ten years and belonged to groups. What I always kept in mind, this is a career and this group has to help me grow. If it doesn’t, then I don’t need to belong to the group.
This was great! I appreciate your videos so much, especially on days of slogging through revisions and feeling like I'm not getting anywhere. I love the peek into the trad pub world. Thanks!
RE: Critique groups, I think maybe the people Jessica is talking to are getting defensive because they hear her advice as "rookie" advice, and they might not be rookies. Nothing is worse than being told "You need to go to conferences" when you've attended four in the last year and a half. I've gotten rookie advice many times, and rather than tell the advisor that this ain't my first circus, I try to smile sweetly and tell them that's great advice for a new writer (because it probably is) and thank them. Or ask myself why they think I need to know that, because: You might be missing something if you are getting feedback that seems simplistic. If you are NOT a new writer, I think what Jessica is really saying is, "Your manuscript needs more editing, and if you have a critique group, they aren't telling you the things you need to know. Thus, it might be time to find another one."
Hi! I love these videos and really appreciate you making them! I learn so much! James - I'm wondering if you might consider increasing the audio gain on your side. I think the both of you have different audio set-ups and so you are coming across as very muted. There is likely even somewhere you can adjust this on your computer. Thanks!
I'm glad you asked about the audio, Sherwin! I was trying to figure out a nice way to ask. Also, I love these videos. I've learned a lot and, just this morning, had the opportunity to recommend them to a friend who was looking for resources. So thanks very much, James & Jessica!
I need to write everyday or I die inside. I love writing... editing on the other hand is tedious. Though writing daily isn't always practical. Family first and unless I get that mythical 6 figure salary my job lol.
I write, and then immediately edit what I wrote. And then edit, and edit and edit. Sometimes I edit to the point of Fing what I wrote on up in an effort to better the text, as my text is usually mostly conversations, and therefore very snappy, and I risk losing that with over editing, but I also lack the little things that are nessasary like scene descriptions ect.
Thank you for the informative info, especially foreign markets. Can you do a deeper dive into how and what and where foreign sales happen -the process?
My question is - say you see a query you like, read the manuscript, and want to make an offer of rep for a previously unpublished author. Is that enough for an agent to do so? Or do agents prefer to have a phone call conversation first?
Some agents might offer rep on the spot, but usually they will still require a call to get to know the author and their goals, and if during the call the author and agent don't seem to agree on editorial visions for the book, career trajectories, or working styles, either of the parties can pull away from the partnership during or after the call
Serious question: Where is the payoff? What makes this "career" worth it? Seems like writers make no money but get the "privilege" of working so they can afford to write as a hopeful hobby. The more research I do, the fewer benefits I find.
GREAT question. One we might have to do a video on. Honestly, it's up to the author. Everyone has a different metric of success. For me, (James), it was about sharing my love for space, and fulfilling that dream of having a book published. Many folks do many decent Money in publishing their books. For some, it's all about the money. For others, it's about reaching readers. Or a combination of everything. It really is about your goals.
There’s no guaranteed pay-off where careers are concerned. You have to do it because you love it, because that’s the only dependable outcome - the act of doing something you love. That might not be enough for everyone and that’s okay.
I once heard advice about needing to build up your "platform": publication credits in literary magazines (short stories), social media presence on multiple platforms, etc. Is that more for fiction or non-fiction, and is it still relevant advice?
Good advice. But I wanna Work towards quitting my day job anyway. What's funny as the book I'm polishing to send of to agents is biting back currently. Bugger. Also I'm still looking for beta readers and critique partners out there. Pitch. Anyone interested in reading some mediaval adult Fantasy novel circling around women's rights and freedom? My grey witch is fleeing inquisition. And she's a piece of work with trust issues. Anyone wanna get to know her? Or maybe lieutenant Ondar who's steady, loyal and straightforward? He's lamentably working for the villian. Interested in reading some? Please? Brigitte
Writing advice is badly overrated and usually harmful to just as many writers as it's beneficial for. Whether you should do or stop doing something depends on whether you personally can do it well. And different writers can do different things well.
