Most of us are readers, so it stands to reason that we believe we know at least a little bit about writing. This is true to a large extent - writing, the act of stringing words together in coherent fashion, is not neurosurgery. But many myths about writing persist, and they can hurt your chances of getting published. They can even hurt your chances of getting any writing done at all. Here are a few to watch out for:
1. You can sell a book on the basis of a really great idea. A great idea is essential, to be sure, whether you're talking about fiction or nonfiction. But it's rarely enough all by itself. Most nonfiction books are sold on the basis of a full proposal, which includes among other things an extensive table of contents and a few sample chapters. And a novel or a memoir? You need to write the whole thing before shopping it around to an agent. You may ask whether this means that you need to commit substantial time and effort writing something you have no guarantee you'll ever see a penny for. The answer is yes.
2. You need a perfect command of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This one is false. Many great writers have only a passing understanding of these skills. However, there's a big caveat, which ties into Myth #3:
3. You can submit work that contains imperfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You just can't - not if you want anyone to give it a second look. While writing is so much more than these things, and you may have an undeniably wonderful story buried in there, glaring errors in these areas will disqualify you right off the bat. And, like that old deodorant (or was it dandruff shampoo?) commercial said, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Hire a good freelance editor to take a look at your work and clean it up for you. This doesn't mean you're a bad writer - just a smart one.
4. I'd write so much more if I only had the time. The funny thing about this one is that we all desperately want to believe it. But I know a number of people who took a week, a month, or a whole summer off to write and wound up without a lick of writing to show for it. Clean closets, maybe, but the writing never got done. The problem with the "clear the decks" approach is that it puts too much pressure on you. The writing gets too big and too daunting. A better approach is to sneak it in to your daily life in small doses, before your self-doubts know what hit them.
5. Writing becomes easy if you do it enough. It never gets easy. Easier? Sure - but never truly effortless. If you really love doing it, you'll stick with it despite this (and maybe even because of it).
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Jennifer Carsen, J.D. is a "recovering attorney" and the founder of Big Juicy Life. Her specialty is turning lawyers into writers. Visit
http://www.bigjuicylifecoaching.com to download the free report, "6 Myths About Leaving the Law for Writing."
