It's a new month and a new post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. My regular readers should be familiar with them, but if you're not, check them out on their website, Facebook, and Twittter. Our hosts this month are Erika Beebe, Sandra Hoover, Susan Gourley, and Lee Lowery. For this month, we've been posed the following question: What pitfalls would you warn other writers to avoid on their publication journey?
I think the most important pitfalls to be wary of are scams. There are all kinds of scams directed at writers, from agents who recommend "book doctors" to people who overcharge for publishing services. One of the best sources to learn about such scams is the Writer Beware blog. I also recommend Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Business Musings blog series. She doesn't just discuss scams, but also practices in traditional publishing that are harmful to authors.
As far as writing craft goes, I think one pitfall to avoid is overwriting or putting your work through countless drafts. As a beginning writer, I did this a lot. If you're part of a crit group or writer workshop and getting feedback from multiple people, it's tempting to revise your story to try to please all your readers. Unfortunately, that's impossible. I definitely did learn a lot from participating in workshops such as the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror and getting feedback on Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. However, some feedback I received on them didn't fit the vision I had for those stories. Eventually, it's possible to get sick of a particular work. You'll learn more by releasing that story into the world and working on something different.
What writing pitfalls have you encountered in your journey? Feel free to share them in the comments.
