Archive for October 2023
Editorial Requests: When to Say Yes and When to Push Back
Every writer knows the drill: You write your draft, polish it the best you can, and send it off to your editor. If all goes well, you might not have to do any extra work at all. The editor will make final, superficial tweaks on their own. But if your draft still needs work, particularly…
Read MoreHow to Punch Your Inner Critic in the Face When You Write
“You call yourself a writer? You just spent 20 minutes writing a trash heap!” “Like anybody’s going to read this.” “You need to stop imagining you’re J.K. Rowling and admit that your writing career doesn’t even exist.” Maybe your inner critic isn’t quite this harsh when you try to write. But I’d bet money it…
Read More4 Myths That Deserve to Die About Writers
Some elements of the writing profession never change. The books or other pieces of content we write are always our babies. Tears are shed over lost files. Rejection letters hurt even when they’re nice. These elements are tolerable specifically because they hold enduring truths about what our work is like. Those who react to them…
Read MoreRewriting: When Should You Stop?
Over the past few months, I’ve worked with a number of clients who, for one reason or another, needed the work I did for them rewritten. This often had nothing to do with the quality of my work. Sometimes their editors requested something different. Sometimes the client realized they wanted to go in a different…
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