Thread by @lordebay

What I Tell My Writer Friends

1. Don’t send your book to people for free, especially trying to show them you’re good. They won’t read it. And often, they don’t deserve it.

#writerscommunity

2. Don’t rely on another writer to promote your books. Rely on your content and the audience you’re creating it for. If writers choose to promote you however, it’s also good.

#writerscommunity

3. Don’t give your manuscript to editors who’re not as good as you, or probably better than you but unfamiliar with your style. They’ll try to rewrite you and then ruin your voice. Some people’s books get boring bcs of their editors. Know the kind of editor that is right for you.

4. Don’t waste too much time reading articles on how to write good books, or rules of writing thrillers, they don’t work for everybody. Just close your eyes and imagine what type of book you would enjoy reading and how you would like it written, that’s what/how you should write.

5. Do not be annoyed to see your friends post reviews of some books they’ve read while they’ve probably never read (or intend to read) yours, let alone write reviews. Focus on the people who’re reading your books and appreciating you. U don’t choose your fans; your fans choose u.

6. In whatever you do, comparisons are unnecessary. Lewis’s Narnia, Tolkien’s Rings, and Rowling’s Potter, we read all. Fans always compare, saying one is better than the other. That’s what fans do. It’s normal. Be grateful your name even came up at all. Some other writers are.🔕

7. Use of big words isn’t an indication of brilliance or intelligence. Make the writing as easy to follow as u could possibly do. A popular author once said, “The most difficult task about writing isn’t sounding scholarly and rhetorical, it is sounding simple yet sophisticated.”

8. Brace for negative reviews. If it’s valid, embrace it and improve on it. If it’s invalid, just ignore. Rowling’s Sorcerer’s Stone was rubbished by literary agents until a kid picked up the manuscript from a trash can and told his dad, “This is the best book I’ve ever read.”

9. Do not force your standard on other people. Because some other writers smoke weed, drink alcohol or prostitute gives you no moral pass to rubbish their arts anytime you hold a microphone. Erotica is a genre in literature too. If it offends you, stick to your scripture.

10. Appreciate other writers. Whoever you don’t like, discuss it in your circle alone and not on Facebook. It’s funny reading writeups from a writer on how stupid other writers’ books are. Let critics do that, not you. Be an author. Focus on your craft.
- Moshood Adebayo
#writers