Wanted: Authors Who Don't Need To Be Taught

One of the items on my #MSWL for the year is to find authors who don't need to be taught. Now, before you start getting your "panties in a bunch" let me explain what I mean here.

As an agent, part of our job is to guide you through your writing career. We do spend the time teaching and making sure you do things right. But where I am going to with this goes much deeper.

Over the 2017 year, I saw a ton of authors who really had no clue about pretty much everything. I saw authors who didn't understand what editors and agents do. I saw authors who didn't know what genre they were writing. I saw authors who simply didn't know how to write.

I had one author who wrote and wanted me to provide instruction on how to get his book published.

This is not the job of the editors and agents out there.

One of the things I look for in the submissions I receive is whether or not the person "gets it." How much work is it going to take to get this writer up to speed and be ready to get that book published. I also look to story ad see if the author really knows how to write a story, or is the author just going through the motions.

So, where do authors get that education? They take courses. Not courses on how to market their book or create a website. They take courses and workshops on writing. They get their writing chapters to invite in the specialists to do true workshops that don't just tell people what to do, but to guide people through the writing process and the steps. They also take the time to learn the business and the skill.

To do all of this TAKES TIME!!!!

For those of you interested in submitting to Greyhaus, ask yourself if you are someone who will need to be taught or not. If so, work on the education first. Or, if you are interested, invite me to your writing chapters and your conferences and I will provide that workshop to get you ready!