What I Have Learned as an Indie Author

This opinion piece originally appeared at http://www.LetUsWrite.wordpress.com



As a writer of over 28 years, I have learned a lot of things.

1.  "A good story is in the mind's eye of the reader." 
In other words, what one person finds to be the best written piece ever will be the bane of the next person's existence. 

2.  When it comes to being a writer, I can guarantee two things will always happen: 
         First, for everything that you write, there will be at least one person out there who will absolutely LOVE it. 
         Second, for everything you write, there will be at least one person out there who will absolutely LOATH it.

3.  Criticism will not kill you, but it might not necessarily make you a better writer either.  (see #1)

4.  There is only ONE thing that will ever make you a better writer.  And that is lots.  And lots.  And lots.  Of practice.  All the How-To books in the world will not help make you a better writer.  Only you can do that by practicing the craft.  A LOT.

5.  Editors and publishers only have ONE bottom line, and yours is not it. 
They are the ones who makes all the wild guesses as to what may or may not "hit it big" this season and choose storylines accordingly.  If yours does not fit into their predetermined mold, then look for the giant red "REJECTED" stamp.  If they think it might can be salvaged by rewriting the entire thing, then look for the finished product to not remotely resemble the manuscript that you submitted.  They are only interested in making themselves money.  If that means stomping all over your creativity and pulling a fast one, then that is what they are going to do.

6.  No one knows how to write your own storylines better than you. 
Sometimes, however, rewording it can greatly increase the impact or help clear up some discrepancies or clarify some scenes for the readers.

7.  You do NOT have to take criticism to heart.  If someone thinks a certain section would sound better written another way, then humor him/her and rewrite it with the suggestions.  Now compare the two.  Use the one that YOU feel sounds the best.

8.  If it were easy, everyone would be doing it.  Writing is hard work and no matter how long you have been practicing the art, you will come to certain sections of a storyline that will be more difficult to write than others.  But that's fine, because if it were easy and everyone was good at it, we would have a lot more fantastic literature sitting around on our shelves.
 
9.  When it stops being "fun" and becomes "work" then your career just turned into a job.  Writing is mostly a labor of love.  But if you do not absolutely love writing, then it is going to show in your stories.

10.  You gave 110%.  Now you have to give 100% more.  They say that success is 1/10th inspiration and 9/10ths perspiration.  Proofreading, editing, and formatting is that other 100% or 9/10ths perspiration they are talking about.  It's often harder than the original penning of the storyline and usually takes just as long or longer.  But if you want your writing to stand out for all the right reasons, then putting forth this extra effort is a must.

11.  I came.  I saw.  I conquered.  And I make no apologies.  If, at the end of the day, you feel that you have written the absolute best that you possibly could, then take all of the criticism with a grain of salt.  Grammatical and punctuation errors can be corrected and should be.  But when it comes to the creativity that is involved with fictional writing, then no one is a better judge of how the story should be written than the one who created it in the first place.

12. I am not the next Anne Rice/Laurell K. Hamilton/ Stephanie Meyer/Stephen King/J. K. Rowling/Suzanne Collins/et al.  And I do not want to be.  One of the most important things that a writer can do is embrace their own writing style and stop trying to be like someone else. If readers want to read someone who sounds like Anne Rice, they will go read Anne Rice. But when they want to read someone who sounds like Nicola Matthews, they come to read ME. I do not want to be known as 'that author who sounds a lot like Laurell K. Hamilton.' I want to be that author who is known as who I am, and that is Nicola C. Matthews, Mistress of the Erotic Night and Queen of the Supernatural. Because in the end, I would rather make my way as uniquely myself than as a pale comparison to a famous author.

13.  Critics are not writers, and writers are not critics. Critics are notorious for making the first mistake that most critics make, and that is presuming to know what an author was thinking. Their inability to understand where an author was going with a storyline or their dislike of a storyline based on the content is not a direct reflection of a writer's ability. Just because they do not like it does not mean it was not a good story and well-written. Critics have a tendency to forget that there is a person on the other end of the storyline that spent months, sometimes years, fine-tuning the finished product. Writers put their blood, sweat, and tears into a piece, something that a true critic, one who has never really written anything, oftentimes forgets. Writers, however, remember what it is like starting out, and how bad the deconstructive criticism hurts and how very little it helps. They know more about what will and will not help out other writers, so they tend to focus less on what they did not like about a storyline and focus more on the structural points that need addressing.
         So when it comes to reviews and critiques on your work, don't stress the small stuff.  What you will find, once you have spent a few decades in the trade, is that most 'critiques' and 'reviews' will be virtually meaningless to you unless they come from a published author who has actually made it in the industry. In other words, while you might take to heart what Anne Rice said about your work, opionated pieces on internet writing forums and sites that want to pick apart your work are little more than cause for an eye roll. Bottom line, you get used to the negativity coming from those who have far fewer years in the business than you. Feel free to listen to those who have more years of experience than you and who have more published works than you and don't pay much attention to those who want to pretend they know everything there is to know about writing when they haven't been doing it nearly as long as you have.


14. Self publishing is hard. If you do not know what you are doing, you are going to get burned, so educate yourself, learn from those who have already been successful, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

15. Those with fewer years of experience as a writer with fewer published works than you are going to give you their opinion regardless of whether or not you actually want it. It comes with the territory. Don't think that just because someone gives you an opinionated 'review' or 'critique' that you have to take it to heart or actually take the advice. You know what they say about opinions. 

16. Don't believe everything you read, and don't think that because it worked for one author it will work for you. Writing, like any business, is a dynamic entity. If you are unwilling to change up your business model once it has been established, you are doomed to a life of mediocrity.