One Year of Great Writing Advice

Today is a very special day here at the Editor Unleashed world headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s the 1 Year Anniversary of this site! Yep, 1 year and still alive and kicking in the blogosphere. My first post: So Here’s How I Got Here..

I decided to celebrate by sharing some of my favorite pieces of writing advice gleaned from interviews and guest posts from the authors, agents and editors who have graced this site in the past year. Enjoy!

“Never give up, no never means no. Keep writing. As my mentor Howard Fast (author of Spartacus and 80 other novels used to tell me when I’d say I had writer’s block: “‘Plumbers don’t get plumbers block. A page a day is a book a year.’” -Susan Sharpiro

“In many cases, authors understand the market for their book better than the publisher and can do a better job of reaching that audience. But they first need to understand that it’s now part of their job to do that, and they need to embrace it. Marketing can be fun!” -Michael Bourret

“Be generous. Spread ideas. Give things away. Write, share and repeat.” -Seth Godin

“I love real life. I love finding and telling stories, with the deep hope that it will somehow change the reader. Fiction can do that too, of course, but I have always wanted to find real stories and draw people to them, reveal something of life to them that they might not otherwise have a chance to see.” -Susan Orlean

“If you are clever, you’ll share the information that’s important to the audience, and not necessarily the contents of your book.” -Chris Brogan

“When it’s time to think of a new book idea, sitting in front of my computer and trying to squeeze something out just doesn’t work for me. But, when I’m running or on the bus or supposed to be writing something else, that’s when the characters come to me and the plots form. I try to just let myself be open to the flow and carry a pen with me.”-Julie Kraut

“If you’re a writer, then blogging should be a no-brainer for you. Read all the available resources on how to have a successful blog, then get going. Target your blog toward the exact audience you’re writing your books for.” -Rachelle Gardner

“I can see e-publishing as a great way for a genre writer to develop a fan base before going the traditional publishing route, along with podcasting and blogging and all of those other great grass roots ways of attracting readers.”-Michelle Brower

“If you have an idea for a new way to get your work out and build a market, go for it. If it fails, nobody will notice, and will usually give you credit for trying. And if it works, the sky’s the limit.”-Matt Stewart

“Writing is truly a test of endurance. So much of the battle is figuring out ways to keep showing up, and proving to yourself that you take your writing seriously.” -Laura Dave

“There’s nothing to be afraid of about putting content online. Like Cory Doctorow says, ‘Our enemy isn’t piracy. It’s obscurity.’ It’s true: The more people who know my work, whether from reading a pdf online, listening to me read it via podcast, or find it on my site as text, the better off I’m going to be as a writer.”-Seth Harwood

“Get excited about things!
Your well will never
run dry.”-Leo Babauta

“If you want to become more in touch with creativity then you must be creative. You must consciously fashion a life in which creativity is central. Visit art museums. Expand horizons. Dream. Imagine. Play. Pretend you are again a child discovering your world. Take risks. And risk again. Dare to fail. Practice your craft. And read, read, read.” -Anne LeClaire

“I blog about the things I’m learning about and living, in my life, and I never stop learning and experimenting with life. It’s a passion. So no, I never run out of topics, because I simply reflect about what I’ve been thinking about, reading about, and doing in the last week or so. I’m always excited about something, and that’s what I write about. If I’m excited about something, writing about it is a joy and a breeze. Get excited about things! Your well will never run dry.”-Leo Babauta

“I’ve discovered that I’m a writer who really needs that lightning bolt of an idea, and once I have it, I’m off to the races.”-Allison Winn Scotch

“More and more authors have been telling me how disempowered they’ve felt for a lot of years and many are sensing that there’s a window, now, to begin to reclaim power in the publishing equation.” -Jonathan Fields

“Ideas build on ideas—that’s how cultures grow. It’s a wonderful thing. But I always advise newbie writers not to quit their day jobs until they’ve sold a million copies of something or other. Dream. Plan. Write. Move ahead. Remember that we don’t get to decide the value of our work to anyone but ourselves.”-Laura Benedict

I’ve been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to help chronicle an amazing year of transformation in the writing and publishing industry. Not to mention very lucky to be able to interview some of the smartest authors and publishing pros around.

Thanks to everyone who’s left a comment, written a guest post, joined the forum, shared a link, or otherwise helped support this site. You’ve all helped make this site more than I even hoped for when I launched it a year ago. I’m grateful and looking forward to sharing another inspiring year with you.

-Maria Schneider

Tagged as: creativity, inspiration