Why New Authors Are So Lost

Yesterday, I talked about an item that popped up from my UCLA Extension marketing class. Today's post is based on a question that one of the students asked at the end of the course?

Scott, during the course, I was shocked at how much work it takes for an editor or agent when working with both brand new authors and self-published authors. Why is it that they are so lost?

Here was my answer - They haven't taken the time to learn the craft.

For new authors, they probably had a great idea for a story and just started writing. They didn't know what they were doing and just slinging words on a page. Yes, there are some authors out there who "accidentally" got it right the first time around. Unfortunately, there are so many who fail horrendously. For the self-published authors, many took the approach because they had heard "wonderous tales of great riches in self-publishing" as well as being told by some authors "Self-publishing means you don't have to be told what to do and you don't have to work within the machine of traditional publishing." So, they too just go blindly out there with their writing. 

This is a common message I send out here on this blog so many times. It is also a message that I tell authors at conferences and in workshops. To be a professional writer takes time and training. It is a job, and like all other jobs out there, time is the best education.

Think about teachers. Why is it that some teachers just naturally have success and others struggle? In many cases, it is the new teacher who just entered the work force and are still doing things that the professors told them. In other cases, the teachers who struggle are those trying to use the "templates" their administrators told them to use (see yesterday's post). But the teachers who have it figured out are those who have been doing it for a while. They adjust and adapt their curriculum and instruction based on the moment, the class and the student. 

So, if you are new, just keep working. If you are going to go the self-published approach, learn the business from the professionals and not other self-published authors who claim they know everything. 

You will get there.