FYI The "Truth about Publishing"

[Rachel Caldecott]

The Truth About Publishing - Ian Irvine

 

[Barbara]

@Rachel Caldecott-Thornton . Interesting article. Good find.

 

[Carol Rose]

Good stuff! And very timely - especially the parts about marketing and promotion - considering how often those are discussed here in the Colony. Thanks for posting it, @Rachel Caldecott-Thornton. I'm going to repost the link in Writing Wiki.

 

[cgovender]

I've never thought of the writing process beyond getting an agent, so in that way it was a very insightful article. The reality of publishing seems more bleak than I'd imagined, but it's good to temper expectations and be realistic.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Realistic advice from one who knows. I particularly agree with what Ian Irvine says at the beginning of the article, about determination: "It’s the writers who work hardest at every aspect of their craft, and never give up, that get there."

This is termed 'Grit' by psychologists, and featured in today's newsletter from The Passive Voice—one of the best writing blogs.

Grit - Books in General - - The Passive Voice

The main proponent of Grit as a way of achieving self-control and staying determined is Angela Duckworth, who published a book on it last year:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grit-passi...d=1528452870&sr=8-1&keywords=angela+duckworth

 

[Katie-Ellen]

This especially:

Listen to what people are telling you about your work. If you do have talent, take the advice of professionals and you’ll immediately have an edge over most of your competitors, because few unpublished writers are really willing or able to act on criticism.

 

[cgovender]

@Paul Whybrow So insightful. I loved this: "PG suspects grit is more important for success in writing (and many other pursuits) than IQ, education and a variety of other social measures of aptitude and intelligence. The nice thing about grit is that it can be developed by a great many people and background, age or prior failure does not bar its development."

I needed that reminder, so thank you.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

I think so. Total tenacity.