The Final 10 Writing Tips From J A Konrath

 

Here are the final 10 writing tips in my writing quiver - for now. I hope you find them all helpful. The ebook I got them from, The Newbie's Guide to Publishing (Everything A Writer Needs To Know), is well worth the time it takes to read it, and it only costs a couple of dollars.

Here are the final 10 tips:

31. Read what’s currently selling, and come up with comparable ideas.

32. Show, don't tell. This means you don't need a one-paragraph description of a bedroom, a character's thoughts on everything, and for god's sake, don't put any backstory in the first chapter.

33. Always ask: “Does the story pull the reader in right away and then hold their interest?” In other words, does your story hook the reader?

34. Short stories pay poorly, but they’re extremely important for getting your name out there. Try to send out a few every month.

35. Talking about writing, reading about writing, taking writing classes, joining writing groups, discussing writing online, and attending writing conventions, are not substitutes for sitting down and actually writing. "Writers write."

36. Don’t be the writer who has ten projects going at once but never finishes any of them. Complete a project to the end.

37. Don’t be the writer who has a drawer full of finished manuscripts but no rejection slips because you never sent them to agents or editors. If you want to sell, you have to query.

38. Never listen to praise. Praise is like chocolate —we love to eat it up, but it isn't good for us. Being told something is good doesn't help you get better.

39. Know when to stop writing. There is ALWAYS something that can be fixed, edited, or told in a better way. To paraphrase Hemingway, writing is never completed, it is simply due.

40. Writing is a craft, and craft can be taught.

AND...

Because Joe Konrath is a funny as well as a helpful guy, here is a bit of bonus writing and publishing advice from him:

How to Become A Successful Crime Writer In Just Six Easy Steps:

Step #1: Read. 

Step #2: Outline.

Step #3: Write.

Step #4: Keep Writing.

Step #5: Edit.

Step #6: Sell It For A Lot Of Money.

And, as a famous cartoon pig once (actually way more than once) said:

That's all folks.