WHY AREN'T GOOD WRITERS PUBLISHED?

From Blue Pencil Editing

Lauren questions Wendy Burt-Thomas, editor, writer, mentor and teacher.

I excerpted a small part of her interview here because she speaks to a matter I have harped on for two years.


Lauren: You've been a mentor, coach, or editor for many writers. What do you think is the most common reason that good writers don’t get published?


Wendy Burt-Thomas replies:
Poor marketing skills. I see so many writers that are either too afraid, too uninformed, or frankly, too lazy, to market their work. They think their job is done when they write "the end" but writing is only half of the process. I've always told people who took my class that there are tons of great writers in the world who will never get published.

I'd rather be a good writer who eats lobster than a great writer who eats hot dogs. I make a living as a writer because I spend as much time marketing as I do writing.

Freelance writer/editor Wendy Burt-Thomas's third book is The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Visit Wendy's site to learn more about her.
http://www.guidetoqueryletters.com/. If you have a writing-related question, you can post it to http://askwendy.wordpress.com/.

Sage Advice from Hope's newsletter

POPSICLES
It's easy to be against something ...that you're afraid of. It's easy to be afraid of something that you don't understand.
When you see people ranting online, usually they fall in line with the above school of thought. They bash something they're afraid of or something they do not understand. No, I'm not talking politics, but it applies there, too.
We bash agents, but we don't know any.

We criticize editors, but we've never spoken in person to one. We fuss that contests are rigged, so we do not enter. We don't query, because our submission will only land in a shredder.
We chastise something because we heard this and heard that. It's like the guy on the commercial talking to his girlfriend with the popsicle. He frowns and says it contains sucrose. The girlfriend asks what's wrong with it. He can't say. She tells him the good points of the popsicle and offers him one. He takes it and they laugh, happy with the world.
This world is seriously crammed full of people afraid to take steps into unknown territory. Many don't want to walk on unchartered ground, so they surmise that the experience can only be bad.
Therefore, they...
1. Don't submit to high-paying magazines.
2. Don't query agents.
3. Don't pitch traditional publishers.
4. Don't market themselves.
5. Don't sell their writing.

And most of them complain about the publishing arena and the strife of a freelance writer.
Listen. Until you've tasted and studied the ingredients of that popsicle, how do you know it isn't good for you?
What's the worst that could happen if you strike out there on your own and take chances?
1. You get rejected.
2. You don't sell your work.

Doesn't look so terrible, does it?
Now, go find a popsicle.

Hope

http://www.hopeclark.blogspot.com/

Reprinted here with permission of Hope Clark.Check out her website and her blog for good info for writers.