How Not to Write
Writing is a very hit and miss business. Everyone thinks that they have a good idea, and everyone thinks that their novel can be the next big thing. For all of this confidence, there is a comparatively low number of people who actually get their book published. It is hard to know what will sell and what won’t – even publishers can get it wrong. When J.K. Rowling submitted the first book in the Harry Potter series, she was rejected by every major publisher – and her series has now gone on to sell more copies than any other book, with the exception of the Bible. So, with all of this uncertainty, how can you increase your chances of getting published? The trick is not only knowing what to do, but also what NOT to do.
How Not to Write – Follow the Trends
Every so often a book like Harry Potter will break out and become massively popular around the world. When this happens, there is inevitably a mass of copycat books that get written. Some of these get published and have some success, others will never get into print. It is natural to want to follow someone who has had a lot of success in the field that you are interested in. However, if you want to be a true hit, then you need to be unique! Another Twilight or Da Vinci Code clone is not going to make you a big name author. Think of how you can be unique and what you can do to be different – this is what will really get you noticed.
How Not to Write – Pay No Attention to Grammar
Like many other jobs, a writer has a set of tools that allows them to work properly. The most important of these tools is a grasp of the English language (or, whichever language you are writing in!). A good grasp of grammar, spelling, punctuation and so on is essential if you want to be a writer. Don’t make that terrible mistake of thinking that it will be your editors job when you get published to fix all of your mistakes. Not so – frankly, you are very unlikely to make it that far without skills in English! If you are weak in some areas, such as punctuation, then sign up for a English class, or go out and buy a comprehensive resource book that can help you.
How Not to Write – Think That a First Draft Can be a Final Draft
Unless you are an English genius (repeat after me – I am NOT an English genius) then you will need to work at polishing your novel. Finishing the first draft of a book is a great achievement, and it can be tempting to run it through a spell check and then start sending it out to agents or publishers. If you do this, you have missed out on one of the most important steps – editing. You need to go back through your work, polish dialogue, fix descriptions, and generally make sure that everything flows well and that there are no plot holes. If you don’t take the time to edit your work, then you are selling yourself short, because what you submit in your first draft is unlikely to be your best work.
