Cintia
asked
Ruth Ann Nordin:
I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing with two things: I get discouraged every single day because 96% of manuscripts are rejected, and I haven't had an idea for years, literally. There's too many people wanting to be writers, and knowing there's so much competition just kills me a little every day. When I get motivated, immediatly something appears about the industry that kills it. Any tips on how to deal with this?
Ruth Ann Nordin
What are your goals as a writer?
There have always been a lot of people wanting to write books. Traditional publishers used to weed them out so most never saw the light of day. Self-publishing has just made it easier for them to get their books into the world. I'm curious as to why this bothers you? Do you think it'll hurt your chances of finding a publisher? From what you said about submitting your manuscripts, it sounds like you're looking for a publisher instead of wanting to self-publish. Is this right?
One thing I had to learn was that I couldn't compare myself to other writers, and that was hard because I saw how successful they were compared to me and it was frustrating. I had to learn to focus on how to work with my own strengths. One author made a blog post years ago about the importance of keeping our eyes on our own paper. We can't compare ourselves to others because our personalities are different. What works for one person doesn't always work for another. And as writers, we all write different things, and our writing process works in different ways. So really, I think the biggest thing is to focus on what you're doing. It's not easy to get your eyes off of other authors. I know it's not because I had to struggle with it. Just take things one day at a time. Make goals for yourself that are easy to obtain (like writing 500 words for the day) or doing something that inspires your creativity (like going for a walk). Figure out what your strengths are, learn to appreciate them, and use them to your advantage.
I hope something in there helps. :)
There have always been a lot of people wanting to write books. Traditional publishers used to weed them out so most never saw the light of day. Self-publishing has just made it easier for them to get their books into the world. I'm curious as to why this bothers you? Do you think it'll hurt your chances of finding a publisher? From what you said about submitting your manuscripts, it sounds like you're looking for a publisher instead of wanting to self-publish. Is this right?
One thing I had to learn was that I couldn't compare myself to other writers, and that was hard because I saw how successful they were compared to me and it was frustrating. I had to learn to focus on how to work with my own strengths. One author made a blog post years ago about the importance of keeping our eyes on our own paper. We can't compare ourselves to others because our personalities are different. What works for one person doesn't always work for another. And as writers, we all write different things, and our writing process works in different ways. So really, I think the biggest thing is to focus on what you're doing. It's not easy to get your eyes off of other authors. I know it's not because I had to struggle with it. Just take things one day at a time. Make goals for yourself that are easy to obtain (like writing 500 words for the day) or doing something that inspires your creativity (like going for a walk). Figure out what your strengths are, learn to appreciate them, and use them to your advantage.
I hope something in there helps. :)
More Answered Questions
Cintia
asked
Ruth Ann Nordin:
Hi, my name is Cintia and I'm from Argentina. Being a writer is what I want the most in this world, nothing makes me happier than writing, but I'm more and more frustrated with each passing day, because I've been blocked for 3 years. And it is not that I have an unfinished story. I have NOTHING AT ALL. A blank page in front of me, that only makes me sadder... Is there a way to overcome this? How do you handle it?
About Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
Dec 28, 2017 10:25AM · flag