So, yeah, I think I mention every week that this year is going by way too quickly. But on the bright side, it IS Friday. So here are five links for ya. And for a lot of us in the good ole U S of A, it’s a three day weekend!
1. While getting a pile of rejections might not be a ton of fun, Kim Liao at Lithub puts a more positive spin on it here: Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejections a Year. My “best” rejection year was in 2014, where I received 40 rejections, so it looks like I still have some work to do.
2. Hey, Brian Tracy thinks you should write a book. Me too. Check out Why Should You Write a Book? (3 Reasons You Should, Even if You’re Not a Writer).
3. And yes, it’s not easy writing a book (or anything at all). But like Jon Winokur says in this post at Advice to Writers, You’ve Just Gotta Fight Your Way Through.
4. The worst thing you can do as a writer is create characters that no one gives a damn about. Tamara Ferguson has some tips on Crafting Compelling Characters at The Little Books of Muses.
5. I’m not really taking a side in this, but Sandra Beckwith at Build Book Buzz has a really informative article about How one author got ripped off and how you can avoid it. I will say, just be careful, do your research, and if you pick a marketing company, make sure it’s one that fits.
That’s it for this week. Have a great, safe, 4th of July weekend!
Thanks for including a link to my article about how to protect yourself from consultants who are more focused on their checkbooks than their clients’ best interests, Jason. I hope it helps authors. One key red flag: If they push you to pay by check rather than by credit card. If there’s a dispute, your credit card will protect you. You lose that when you pay by check — and the less-than-ethical folks know that. In fact, they count on it.
Sandra Beckwith
Sandra,
Thanks for the feedback! Your site and business are top-notch. It is frustrating to see how many companies are out there to exploit new and aspiring writers, and while I’m not directly accusing that specific company in the article of that, the whole thing seemed like a terrible situation. I’ve met writers who have been scammed out of tens of thousands of dollar by other “publishers”, and it’s just sad.
The one thing I hope everyone takes away is before signing a contract, check with the BBB and Predators & Editors. Might have to do a podcast on writing scams sometime…