A Letter To The Uneducated

Dear Authors,

I am writing to those of you who are currently struggling with your writing. You are finding that time and time again, you get rejections from agents like myself or the editors you wish to work with. I am writing to those of you who wish you knew the secrets to writing that great novel you can visualize in your head. I want to simply say that for many of you, the solution is simple. It requires becoming educated in the craft of writing and the business of publishing.

It seems that we are living in a world today where people seem to think that just hard work will yield rewards. Does hard work factor into success? Yes! Success is not something that comes to those who are idle and passive. You have to fight for it! But, just working hard is not going to fix the problem.

We have been taught the phrase, "practice makes perfect." This is not entirely correct. The real approach should be "Perfect practice makes perfect." In other words, just doing something, over and over again is not going to get you to where you need to be. If you continue to do what you have been doing and it is not successful, you will continue to get what you have been getting.

Writing is a skill that needs to be learned. You have to understand the basics of writing including grammar and punctuation. You need to understand literary devices, not just as something you throw in every now and then, but how to use those devices effectively. You have to be able to understand why some pieces of writing are amazing and what the author is doing to make the story amazing. You then need to be able to translate those skills into your writing.

I will be very honest. Every one of you have the ability to "publish" your novel. You can write something, get an ISBN number and toss it out to the public for purchase. But to be a true writer, will take time and take education.

I encourage you to think of what it would take to become a great writer. Figure out what skills you are missing and find a way to gain those skills. This, in the end, will be the key to your success if you truly want to be a writer.

Scott