Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

So You Want to Be a Novelist? Advice for Writers from a Successful Author

July 14, 2009 at 10:19 am angiekp 2 comments

Jennifer Weiner knows a thing or two about writing and publishing. Author of bestselling novels Good in Bed and In Her Shoes (yep, the one that inspired the movie staring Cameron Diaz) , as well as her most recent release Best Friends Forever (released today),  she offers a bit of helpful advice for aspiring authors on her Web site.

Here are a few of the highlights from her article on writing and publishing:

Write to Please Yourself

Tell the story that’s been growing in your heart, the characters you can’t keep out of your head, the tale story that speaks to you, that pops into your head during your daily commute, that wakes you up in the morning. Don’t write something just because you think it will sell, or fit into the pigeonhole du jour. Tell the story you want to tell, and worry about how to sell it later.

Get a Dog

Okay, you’re thinking, what does getting a dog have to do with becoming a writer? More than you’d think. Writing is about talent and creativity, but it’s also about discipline – about the ability to sit yourself down in that seat, day after day. … Being a dog owner requires a similar form of discipline. You wake up every morning. You walk the dog. You do this whether you’re tired, depressed, broke, hung over, or have been recently dumped. You do it.

Get Published

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears, has it really fallen? If a writer writes poems and short stories and novels, but nobody ever reads them, is she really a writer? Nope. If you want to be a writer, you’ve got to bear the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (not to mention evil reader reviews on amazon.com). You’ve got to put your stuff out there for the world to see, and fall in love with, or revile. In short, you’ve got to get published.

Read

Read everything. Read fiction and non-fiction, read hot best sellers and the classics you never got around to in college. Read men, read women, read travel guides and Harlequins and epic poetry and cookbooks and cereal boxes, if you’re desperate. Get the rhythm of good writing in your ears. Cram your head with characters and stories. Abuse your library privileges. Never stop looking at the world, and never stop reading to find out what sense other people have made of it. If people give you a hard time and tell you to get your nose out of a book, tell them you’re working. Tell them it’s research. Tell them to pipe down and leave you alone.

Excerpts are from Jennifer’s full article, which you can read here: http://jenniferweiner.com/forwriters.htm.

Want to learn more? Read Jennifer Weiner’s blog: http://jenniferweiner.blogspot.com/

Can you relate to any of the tips here? Do you have any of your own tips or advice? Please share …

-Angie

Entry filed under: Publishing, Reading & Writing. Tags: Best Friends Forever, bestsellers, Books, In Her Shoes, Jennifer Weiner, novelist, Publishing, write, writing advice, writing tips.