Mel’s Ten Tips on Becoming a Writer

So you want to be a writer? Who doesn’t? I’ve been writing for over forty years. I’ve had successes (three TED-Ed scripts that have been seen by over five million people, a scientific article for the general public in Scientific American) and failures (come check out my garage full of unsold books). I haven’t found my dream US agent yet. In the meantime I want to share the things I’ve learned.

1 It’s easy to be a writer.

Write with passion. Write with feeling. Write from your heart. Share with the people you care for. Check your grammar and spelling. There! You’re a writer.

2 It’s not so easy to be a good writer.

Create strong characters that desperately want something or that get thrown into an abyss and need to grapple with their shortcomings in order to pull through. Show, don’t tell. Create strong openings and surprise endings. Make sure your dialogue is realistic. Read a lot. Revise your manuscripts. Share with strangers to receive feedback. There! You’re a good writer.

3 It’s very hard to be a really good writer.

Being a really good writer can take years. Join online or local ‘critique’ groups to share your writing or find ‘critique partners’. There is a lot of wonderful (free) advice on the internet that you can tap into. For example, if you are a children’s book writer, check out kidlit411.com. If you can afford it, go to meetings and try to meet editors and agents.

Learn how to submit your manuscript and write an amazing query letter (so important). Revise, revise, revise. Start submitting to agents and contests. Start getting used to getting rejected (or not getting an answer at all). The competition is fierce. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t a really good writer. But perhaps you’re not a spectacular writer. Yet.

4 It’s incredibly hard to be a successful, spectacular writer.

Spectacular writers have special supertalents and work super-hard at their craft, often full time. They read incessantly and promote themselves tirelessly. They are the supermen, superwomen and supertheir of the industry. They write for themselves (with integrity and authenticity), and yet still have a canny idea of what might sell. They have agents who sell their manuscripts. Agents go through hundreds (sometimes thousands) of queries to find each of these superwriters. When they find them, their successful books support the entire industry.

5 No one starts out their life as a writer.

Have you ever seen a baby who can write? This is a skill we acquire. Even spectacularly successful and famous authors started out as snot-faced kindergarten children who had to learn to hold a crayon and write the letters of the alphabet. And probably most of their early writing sucked.

6 There is no such thing as constructive criticism, yet still…

Constructive criticism is still criticism. Sometimes it’s given in a pleasant manner, sometimes not. Criticism tells you, “What you’ve done is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Why don’t you try this and that?” If you’re able to get over the insult inherent in any criticism, critique or rejection, you’ll have a better chance of improving. After all, maybe the critic is right.

If you can get over the insult, and accept criticism as ADVICE, you’ll be on your way. If you don’t want to improve, then show this ebook to someone who does. If you don’t want to get better, you won’t. If you think you’re writing is perfect, it most probably is far from perfect.

7. Your best book is your next book.

Even superwriters work on improving their skills and their writing. Especially superwriters. They see each coming manuscript as an opportunity to write even better. Complacence means fading into obscurity. Star writers are keenly aware of this. When they get too complacent they risk losing their prominence. Just like tennis players.

8. Writing is like tennis.

Writing is a sport. It’s a muscle. You have to practice. Take every opportunity to hone skills, query an agent, edit, read, write, promote, think.

9 Writing is like tennis. Part Two.

Can you become a professional tennis player in a couple of months or years? No way. No one grabs a tennis racket, practices for a few months, and then expects people to pay to watch him/her/their play.  So why do people think that they can take a pen, or keyboard, and instantly become a professional writer? Beats me.

10 Luck is important. Steal some.

Luck is critical. Finding an agent who just happens to be awake when he/she/their reads your submission and is really looking for a new author just like you and loves your style and thinks that your content will speak to a particular publisher (or all of them) is a 1 in 1000 chance. But you can increase the odds. Write great stories. Write even greater query letters. Stand out. Don’t give up. Keep trying (even after getting a zillion rejections). Break down the doors. Network. Tell everyone you know you’re an author. Climb every mountain. You might not realize your dream in the end, but you can at least enjoy the view.

11 Find a mentor

I have a mentor named Mike Malbrough. He’s a successful writer/illustrator.  I’ve been taking master classes with him for the past 16 months. He’s incredible. My writing has improved a thousandfold. And although I may never find my dream agent (or any agent), I am working hard to improve as a writer. And that is what life is all about, isn’t it? So run out and find yourself a mentor.

Bonus Tip: Don’t spend your own money to self-publish.

There are many scammy people and companies out there who promise you mountains (e.g., that hundreds of thousands of people will read your book) and end up delivering molehills. They take money from unsuspecting writers who innocently believe that these con artists care about their writing. What they actually care about is how much money they can skim off you before you realize that there are no quick fixes to being a successful writer.

By the way, according to Kawasaki, over 90% of writers publishing on Amazon sell no more than forty books. If you have money to spend, use it on master classes and attending conferences, rather than cover design.