I recently attended a great writing workshop. I love these where you have the chance to get together with people who all share your same passion. I also love the fact that the attendees are there to learn. They are sponges! However...
Like sponges, they absorb EVERYTHING. They bring in the good and the bad.
As I sat in the lobby getting ready for a session, I heard one author giving another author some advice. This person talked with authority and recommended the other author use an approach to his writing as well as how the market and the publishing industry worked.
Every ounce of that information was wrong. Let me stress here, the advice he was giving the other author was not something that came down to subjectivity or something that would work with, say e-book sales vs regular sales. It was just information that was flat-out wrong.
And yet, the other author pulled out his journal and furiously took notes. They exchanged cards and could not wait to continue this conversation and journey together.
There are a lot of people out there on the Internet and in the writing community who will give you advice 24/7/365, but before you even think about listening to that information, or even worse, following that advice, you have to take the time to truly listen and determine if that person has any clue what he or she is talking about. Along the same lines, even if the information was potentially OK, it doesn't mean it is going to work for your writing situation.
I get it! Writers want to learn. They want to find out how to make that book great and how to get their writing published. This is a good thing. But try to think of it this way. Do we attend colleges without finding out if the college is accredited? I doubt it. We go to the colleges that can deliver quality and reliable services.
The same should go for the advice you are getting about your writing!
No comments:
Post a Comment