Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 5186779" data-attributes="member: 19675">I'm an entertainment attorney, so let me say this:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">You need a bit of seasoning.  That's not an indictment of your writing, just a fact of writing at a professional level.  Of all the entertainment forms, writers take the most time to hit their stride, to "find their voice."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Don't be afraid of or overreact to constructive criticism.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Editors, in general, are your friend.  Sure, not every editor will "get you," and some are awful, but nearly every professional writer in the past century (that I know of) can, if they're honest, point to an editor who helped them improve their craft.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Try out a variety of forms.  Short stories, novels, novellas, non-fiction, technical writing, journalism are just a few kinds of professional formats, and each requires special skills.  As you do so, also read the various magazines devoted to the craft of writing.  In them, you'll find countless tips, as well as- and this is important- ads detailing the writing market as a whole.  When you do something you think is sale-worthy, you'll know where to submit your work.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">When you submit work, don't be surprised to get rejection letters.  EVERY WRITER GETS THEM.  If your work gets rejected without comment, it may be because it wasn't good, or it may be you sent it to the wrong outlet (IOW, you sent a sci/fant story to an arts & craft magazine...), or any number of things.  If your work gets rejected WITH a comment, read the comment carefully.  You may find that rejection letter is full of advice, or even a recommendation to rework certain aspects of your work with an eye towards resubmission at a later date.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The 2 attributes you need to cultivate the most are patience and a strong vocabulary.  Without those, a career in writing will prove to be challenging.</li> </ol></blockquote>

Verification