For those of you who are writing memoirs and/or personal essays, Writer’s Digest offers some tips here for not nuking your relationships in the process.
Writing Hurtful Things about Family and Friends
Give Yourself the Gift of Personal Discipline
The singer/composer Judy Collins (“Send in the Clowns”, “Both Sides Now”) in her wonderful book on writing called “Morning, Noon and Night“, talks about the necessity of developing good living AND writing habits in order to be successful. As you read this, please know that her only child committed suicide at the age of 33, and she fought alcoholism most of her life.
“My singing has brought me a career of international proportions that has taught me discipline. I have to keep my body fit. I have to keep my attitude positive, I have to eat and sleep and walk and talk in a healthy manner. I cannot afford the luxury of whining, and I cannot afford the sloth of letting my body or my mind go, for then they would not be ready for the long tour, the short walk, the days on end on airplanes and cars, the hotel rooms and the stages on which I make my living.
“And if I am not disciplined about my writing, I will not get any writing done! Nor any songs written.
“There is talent, and there is the discipline to get the talent to pay out. I have to harness the talent, use the discipline, and I then find that, surprise, there is pleasure in the discipline, and the discipline will say to me, I am not your enemy! I am your friend!
“Finally, the malaise lifts, and I can see clearly again. But these times are not ever entirely over, and I must always be willing to go back to discipline for the lessons it brings of freedom.”
Why Do Beginning Authors Need Agents?
It hurts me to ask that question, but after reading this article in USA Today, I must. I’ve dreamed of having an agent to work with. He or she would work hard toward finding a publisher, and on the happy day the manuscript is sold, the team would expand to include an editor and the publishing team. This is where the dream bubble pops, however. From everything I have heard, and please correct me if I’m mistaken, the budget for marketing my book will be virtually zero, and I’ll receive no assistance or support in doing so, which means I’ll have to sell the book myself. I’ve heard that a publisher can get my book into a national chain of bookstores, but that just means my book will be placed on the shelf with 500 other new ones that month, and if it doesn’t sell like gangbusters, Barnes and Noble will pack it up and send it back in about six weeks. Then I will have a black mark on my marketability scorecard when I attempt to publish future books. Wouldn’t it be smarter for me to go this self-publishing (or E-publishing) route, see how I do, make a few bucks, celebrate with my friends and family, and try to build on that success for future books? Would anybody care to weigh in?
Here’s How to Avoid Rejection Slips Forever
Quoting Janet Reid from a recent post on her excellent blog:
“It got me thinking. I realized there is a very simple solution for all your rejection problems. All of them, forever more. You really don’t want any more of them do you? They’re totally awful, completely depressing, and we all know Rejection Just Sucks.
“Ok, here’s the solution: Stop Writing. If you never send out another query, you’ll never get another rejection. Easy-peasy.
“Wait, that’s not a solution you’re willing to accept? Well ok then. How about we look at rejections like this:
“You love to write. You love to write more than you hate rejections. You love being a writer. So, you love rejections the least of all the parts of writing you love, but faced with a choice of no writing/no rejections, you choose to be a writer. You choose ALL the parts of being a writer, because it’s all or none, and you are a writer.
“Now back to work.”
Revenge is a Bad Reason to Create a Character
Did you ever want to get even with somebody by putting them in your book? Don’t waste your time.
I always regret it when I create a character because I have a beef with someone or because there’s somebody who is so appalling or frustrating that I just have to write about them. They always end up looking cartoonish or pointless. You can’t put a person in a story for your own gratification alone, which totally blows the idea of getting even with anybody through your writing.
Bummer, huh? So here’s your bottom line: if it doesn’t SERVE THE STORY, it shouldn’t be in there.
Five Common Flaws in Memoir Writing
You’re writing a memoir? Save yourself some mistakes by reading this post by Jane Friedman, the awesome publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest magazine. (Oh, THAT Jane Friedman!)
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