Write with Fey: Writing Tips

Showing posts with label Writing Tips. Show all posts

Write What Makes You Happy & Let Others Write What Makes Them Happy

Once, on social media, I read comments between two authors who mocked Hallmark Christmas movies, and they laughed over the idea of them writing stories like that. One writer responded, “Shoot me now.” The other asked a moral quandary question that went like this: “Would you write those cheesy stories if you knew you’d be able to support your family?” The one who asked added that she would because she’s a “sellout.”

That conversation, which I did not get involved in, stuck with me.

Dialogue like that, in public settings, can put other writers down. Someone who writes sweet romances with Hallmark-like vibes may have seen that and felt ridiculed for writing stories that make them happy, and also uplifts the spirits of so many people.

Writing “cheesy stories,” Hallmark-esque stories, sweet romances, romantic-comedies is NOT selling out.

Nor is writing erotica, a genre that has become increasing popular over the years.

What we write is personal. It’s a decision.

The Big Leap / Books for Writers

UPDATE: Last Tuesday (April 19) my mom was admitted into the hospital again and is still there. We’ve received some not-so-good news about her cancer, although her immediate medical diagnosis is improving. I’ve decided not to share anymore updates, good or bad, for…well, indefinitely…until all of her treatments are done and any good news we get is expected to last.

You can read The Big Leap for the reading challenge for writers I’m hosting called Read With Fey. You can join it on The StoryGraph here. But you don’t have to be on The StoryGraph to participate! Check out all the details here: Read With Fey: Challenge For Writers

THE BIG LEAP: CONQUER YOUR HIDDEN FEAR

AND TAKE LIFE TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Image by Chrys Fey

Buy @ Bookshop

In January I was struck in the solar plexus by what I’d be devoting my year to, which can also be described as my year’s goals/themes/words.

Transformation

Growth

Manifestation

Shifts/Leaps

I purchased several books to help me with these goals and listened to podcasts and watched IGTVs (live videos on Instagram).

My favorite podcast and IGTVs are created by Amy Rushworth. In one of her IGTVs she recommended the book The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, so it was one of the books I purchased for my transformational growth.

Throughout the book Gay Hendricks teaches us about his program called The Big Leap and living in our Zone of Genius. The terms he uses to describe his theories may not be for everyone (they even took me a little bit to get used to), but nuggets can be found throughout his book that can help us to grow in more than one way, such as:

- Figuring out if what we do is in our Zone of Incompetence, Competence, Excellence, or Genius.

- Spotting our Upper Limit Problems (traits and personal dramas and other things we do unconsciously that keep us from staying happy and enjoying our success).

- Discovering what our genius is (our unique ability)

There were other teachings throughout his book, but these were the most impactful for me.

FYI: In order to better understand these terms and what they mean, it’d be best to read the book.

While I was reading this book I was also taking a month-long break from social media and all things in order to rest and recuperate from…life. Twice throughout the month I had random thoughts about work/tasks/responsibilities that I did that I no longer wanted to do. I listened to those thoughts, found them curious, and pondered them. It was shortly after the second thought when I noticed a possible connection between those thoughts and what I’d been doing that month.

1.) I was resting and replenishing myself with reading, learning, meditation, self-love, and more.

2.) I was reading a book about not staying stuck in doing things that you’re competent in or even excel in because then you’re not fully embracing your genius and all the ways you could be truly and fully happy and successful.

The two thoughts I had were alerting me to two things I shouldn’t be doing anymore because they were keeping me from leaping into my Zone of Genius, which is writing.

These concepts are all about knowing who you are and what makes you happy and doing things, as well as not doing certain things, that will support you in that happiness and success.

The problem is that most of us don’t know ourselves as much as we should and don’t know what makes us happy, and certainly don’t do what makes us happy for a whole host of reasons.

I’ll reveal my Upper Limit Problems to you.

MY FAREWELL TO THE BOOK CLUB:

(Sent to book club members on 7/26/2021)

Readers and Writers,

Chrys Fey here. The IWSG administrators contacted me recently to inform me about a new direction they’ve decided to take the book club. They also decided to replace me. Toi will be taking over as the new book club lead. Although, she’s not really new. She’s been with us since 2017 as a book club moderator!

I don’t have many details about the new direction, but from what I understand, the book club will be spotlighting IWSG members’ books from now on. Toi will share more about the new direction soon.

Fortunately, our upcoming discussion day on August 25th for They Called Us Enemy and Writing Magic will still be taking place. Toi will be posting for that discussion day. Please join us!

I’d like to take a moment to reflect and express my gratitude.

I created this book club in 2017 for writers to read/learn about the writing craft. I am sad to have to say goodbye after all these years. Many of you have personally messaged me to say how much the book club has helped you and what it has meant to you. Your words have meant a great deal to me. I also know many of you have read the books over the years but chose not to participate in the discussions (which were always optional), preferring to stay on the sidelines, instead. I saw you, and I thank you for being a member on your terms.

The book club’s upcoming changes will be different, but I know Toi and the moderators, Ronel and Juneta, will do great. I am incredibly grateful to them for being such a wonderful team. I didn’t make changes without their input and asked for all their ideas. Their enthusiasm for the book club boosted me, and their assistance helped me to maintain my stamina in running this book club.

Thank you for everything, Toi, Ronel, and Juneta!

And thank you, all four hundred and fifty-seven of you, for being a member of this book club!

Happy Reading (and writing),

Chrys

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

The IWSG book club selections for Sept/Oct/Nov would've been The Heroine's Journey: For Writers, Readers, and Fans of Pop Culture by Gail Carriger and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (as a good example of voice). I was really looking forward to reading and discussing these two books, so I am still going to read them for myself. If either of these books sound good to you, I encourage you to read them for yourself, too. I will talk about them on my blog later this year.

Happy Reading!

Writing About Minor Characters Who Are People of Color / Vlog

Thank you for coming to a vlog edition of Write with Fey!

First, a few updates. If you don't use Blogger, you can skip this part.

BLOGGER USERS: **I updated this update. TWICE. lol** If you clicked on this post’s title in your Reading List, you either (depending on what device you use, apparently) came to this post right away or had a redirect page that brought you to this post, which is normal, although the redirect URL looks odd now (just ignore that).

But if you clicked on my blog's name instead (WritewithFey), you were taken on a bit of a journey to a Follow.it page for my blog. On that page, I added a special message just for Blogger users to prevent any confusion about what was happening. That was different, huh? But not so bad, right? Just one more click.

This is just something to keep in mind. Either way, you will still get here. :)

WHOOPS (also for Blogger users): Last week, you might’ve seen something odd happen with your Reading List on Blogger. All of my posts from this year suddenly popped back up to the front of Reading Lists. If you saw this, my apologies. I had no idea this was going to happen and couldn’t control it.

So why the changes to my blog? Well, like many bloggers, I had to change my email subscription service for blog posts to a different service provider. I followed all of their instructions, which involved importing my RSS users. Not every blogger takes this step. I wasn't sure if I should, but I decided to do what they suggested, which involved technical difficulties and confusion (i.e. everything I mentioned above).

********

Now to the real purpose of this post, to share my latest YouTube video for writers.

This is a PowerPoint presentation with audio that focuses on writing about minor (or passing) characters who are people of color, especially if you're not of the same race as that character. This is not an exhaustive list but rather a starting point of do’s and don’ts to help you along the way and to encourage you to go further in your research. I hope these tips will lead to you wanting to write more inclusive and safe stories.

How to Plant Red Herrings in Crime Novels / Guest Post by Damyanti Biswas

Please help me to give Damyanti Biswas a BIG welcome. Her book YOU BENEATH YOUR SKIN has been making waves. I am honored to have her on my blog today.

Damyanti Biswas' Guest Post:

One of the joys of reading a mystery novel is trying to address a story question—who was the one who did it? I do not write traditional whodunits---my debut You Beneath Your Skin subverts the thriller genre—making of it a whydunnit. It helps though to have the structure of a page-turner, and that means red herrings.

How to Be a Writer When You Can't Write

HEALTH UPDATE: My surgery went well, and tomorrow is my 4-week after mark, but I am still restricted with what I can do for another 2 weeks. First, no signs of malignancy! But when I saw my doctor for the follow-up, the first thing he said was, “Wow. You were the real deal!” He added that what he had to do was very extensive and that he wished he had brought me in for surgery sooner. There was a LOT of endometriosis. Everywhere. There was so much that my organs were a bit misplaced, so when they got done, my organs shifted back into place. He said my uterus “sprang” back. They removed the "chocolate" cyst from my right ovary, and they also had to do something with my colon and remove something from the outside of my intestine. So, yeah... lol

~*~

There are times when you may struggle to write, not because you lost the ability to physically write, but rather that you’re suffering from writer’s block (the condition in which an author loses the ability to create new work or slows down creatively) or writer’s burnout, which is more extreme than being blocked and involves a disconnect between you and writing; the love is (hopefully temporarily) gone, replaced with physical and mental exhaustion…sometimes even emotional exhaustion.

Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time)

NOTE: I am one of Janice Hardy's part-time contributors for the year. I'll be contributing 4 guest posts to Fiction University. My first post is 6 Gadgets to Take to Your Next Book Event.

What is writer’s burnout?

Burnout is very different from writer’s block. It’s worse. Writer’s burnout is something you feel deep down…bone-deep. It’s just like when athletes burnout from working themselves too hard and too much for too long. They can lose their love of the sport, physically and mentally. You can get writer's burnout from doing anything related to being an author.

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 5 (Free Your Mind with Walking) Tips 14 - 15
Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time) Tips 16 - 17
Writer's Burnout Part 7 (Don't Force Yourself) Tips 18 - 19
Writer's Burnout Part 8 (Alternative Hobby) Tips 20 - 21

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

More Tips to Help You START Reversing Writer’s Burnout:

One Day at a Time

Yes, I know you’ve heard this one before. Everyone who has ever been in a tough spot has heard the phrase “One day at a time.”

But it’s a good one.

Looking too far ahead can stunt our growth, paralyze us, and prevent us from going forward. Looking too far ahead can be…in one word…daunting.

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) + Google Plus

NOTE: At the ER. I’ll do my duties as co-host when I can.

Update: I was released from the ER on Wednesday with the diagnosis of a mass on my right ovary. I am much better now. The pain and tenderness had gone away. I am in the process of finding a specialist because everyone recommends I have it removed asap. Thank you for your love and prayers.

GOOGLE PLUS:

With Google+ being taken down come the New Year, Google+ profiles and groups will disappear, and bloggers using Google+ for comments and/or profiles will need to make changes.

NOTE: Google accounts will not be impacted.

Blogger: If you’re using Google+ for comments, in Blogger, go to "settings," click "posts, comments, and sharing," and scroll down to "Google Plus Comments" and mark it as "No" for "Use Google+ comments on this blog." Which means people will then be commenting directly on your blog. Unfortunately, Google+ comments may disappear from your posts. So sorry!

If you’re using Google+ as your profile, in Blogger, go to "user settings" under "settings" and change the profile from Google+ to Blogger, so when people click on your name/avatar, they'll go directly to your Blogger profile (this is what mine does). You can update your profile by viewing your blog and clicking "View your complete profile" (if the profile gadget was added to the layout) and then "edit profile" at the top of the new page. This is where you can add a profile/avatar image if you don't already have one uploaded.

For Blogger, if it says "(Google)" next to your name in comment boxes, you're good. That means you're logged into your Google account, which will not go away.

Wordpress: You can remove the “share to Google+ button” by going to your Wordpress dashboard, “sharing,” “sharing buttons,” and “edit sharing buttons.” You can also disconnect from sharing to Google+ under “connections.” As far as commenting on Blogger accounts, try changing the “comment as” from “Google” to "Name/URL." That way people aren’t brought to your Google+ profile, which probably won't exist. They'll go straight to your blog/site, instead. The only thing is, you won’t have an image/avatar that way.

***

More Tips to Help You START Reversing Writer’s Burnout:

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writers Meetings)

What is writer’s burnout?

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU)

What is writer’s burnout?

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

More Tips to Help You START Reversing Writer’s Burnout:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak)

What is writer’s burnout?

Burnout is very different from writer’s block. It’s worse. Many years ago, I experienced a bad case of writer’s block that stopped my writing for 2 or 3 months. I’ve also experienced the normal day-to-day writer’s block, as well as weeks of writer’s block. And, yes, writer’s block can last a year.

But writer’s burnout is not writer’s block. Writer’s burnout is something you feel deep down…bone-deep. It’s just like when athletes burnout from working themselves too hard and too much for too long. They can lose their love of the sport, physically and mentally. You can get writer's burnout from doing anything related to being an author.

To read my story and all my burnout tips check out:

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak) Tips 1 - 3

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU) Tips 4 - 8
Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writer's Meetings) Tips 9 - 11

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) Tips 12 - 13

Writer's Burnout Part 9 (Patience) - Tips 22 - 24

Writer's Burnout Part 10 (No stress) - Tips 25 - 26

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

This next tip is great for motivation as well as keeping record…a word count calendar.

A word count calendar is a calendar where you can write down the daily word count you reach inside that day’s box. Do this at the end of the day when you don’t plan to write anymore.

After you turn off the computer, if you end up writing in a notebook and type it up the next day, add those words to that day’s word count. After all, typing up your written words counts. When I do this, I tend to revise, so you’re putting in the same effort and thought.

I like to jazz this up with stickers. I’ve seen writers posting pictures on Instagram of their calendar full of stickers to represent how much they wrote. And I had wanted to do that because it looked like a lot of fun.

I use heart stickers or writing days and thumbs-up stickers for other accomplishments, like sending review requests and recording YouTube Videos.

What I like about combining these two methods is that you have the actual word counts visible and you can add a sticker as a reward. I use bigger stickers for those word counts that are 2,000 or more and smaller stickers for word counts that are under 2,000. Even 500 (and 100) words gets a sticker!

It’s neat to look back on the week and month and see your progress. Or even to see which days resulted in more or less words.

QUESTION: Do you keep track of how much you write?

RELEASE DAY HELP:

I'm looking for bloggers to help me announce the release of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication on June 5th.

***The release day announcement will contain a blurb, buy links, cover photo, bio, author photo, and a giveaway, so you can add it to any post.***

You Choose: Any day from June 5th - 18th

Organization Tip - Writing Goals #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Join HERE

At the start of each year, and sometimes each month, we create goals for our writing and publishing. A couple of my goals for the year are to set up a blog tour for Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication and submit the final book of the Disaster Crimes series to my publisher. These are some pretty big goals.

I often tell writers to take their big goals and break them down into smaller, more manageable goals.

For my blog tours, I figure out all the steps I need to do to make sure the tour goes off without a hitch, such as writing out guest posts, finding tour stops, and emailing the hosts. Part of figuring out those steps is knowing when I need to complete them, so I don’t have to rush last minute. For more information see this post: Organization Tip: Release Day.

For submitting the final book of my series, I first need to write it. Haha!

Writing and submitting a book to your publisher/editor in a year could be a daunting goal if you don’t break it down.

Here is a break-down of goals if you need to write and submit a book this year:

1. Write a chapter a week.

For a book with 25 chapters, writing a chapter a week would have you finishing it in about 6 months. If you're able to write more some weeks, you'll finish sooner!

Thinking about writing one chapter a week is a lot less daunting than telling yourself you need to finish your book in X amount of time. Remember, managable goals. Goals that won't stress you out!

TIP: Plotting out the story helps, even a little plotting if you’re a pantser. The key is to always know what you need to write next. So plot out a chapter at a time. You can Do this before the start of each new week.

2. With a weekly goal, you can devise a daily goal, such as to meet a specific word count. Chapter lengths vary. They can be long (20 pages) or short (5 pages). They can even be longer or shorter depending on the story.

No cheating by having a bunch of tiny chapters, though. Something needs to happen in that chapter. Check out Dan Brown. He's a pro at exciting, short chapters.

What your daily goal is will depend on you and any time constraints you have. I aim for 1,000 – 2,000 words a day. It changes, though, as it should. Some days I write more, some days I write less. Both are fantastic. Any words written should be celebrated.

3. The above goals will help you write a book, but if your goal is to submit it, you need to do more, such as revising. Again, this will depend on your story and when you feel your story is ready. I typically revise for a couple of months. Some writers take longer. Try to anticipate how long you'll need to revise it before beta readers.

4. Using beta readers or critique partners should also be a stepping-stone to your goal. Allow them a month to give you their notes.

5. Are you self-publishing? Then your next goal will be to hire a freelance editor.

6. If you're aiming to traditionally publish, once you implement necessary changes based on what your critique partners and/or editor said, create the query letter and synopsis.

See: How to Write a Query Letter

See: How to Write a Synopsis

7. With your manuscript, query, and synopsis ready, your next step is to find agents/publishers. I like to use Writer’s Market, Manuscript Wish List, and Writer’s Digest.

8. Now, submit away! Follow all guidelines and cross your fingers.

Whatever your goal is, no matter how big, chip away at it until it’s a bunch of tiny goals.

What can you do each month to reach that goal?

What can you do weekly?

And what can you do daily?

The Art of Naming a Book

Naming a book is a big task. It has to reflect the story and interest the reader in some way. It could be funny (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) or dark (The Queen of the Damned). It could be named after the main event or plot line of the story (The Hunger Games, Under the Dome) or cleverly hint at something that only someone who reads the story would understand (The Color Purple).

Sometimes a title can come right away. Other times it comes while in the middle of the first draft or even after the book is complete.

It’s best not to rush trying to find the perfect title. It’ll come when it comes. You could even have a title picked out and then come up with something better. Or an agent/publisher will suggest a new one.

But let’s forget that for now. First let’s discuss a few things that could make naming a book easier.

1. What’s the tone/mood/theme?

My published books are dark and suspenseful. Death and crimes are common so it’s no wonder that they are titled Hurricane Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Immediately when you read those titles you know what kind of ride you’re in for.

2. Think about the main character.

For a paranormal story, it’s clever to add the type of supernatural being that your MC is to the title. Or to at least hint at it. For example: Despite the Fangs by Dylan Newton is about a woman who is the Alpha of a werewolf pack. Another example is Divergent by Veronica Roth. The MC, Tris, is a Divergent.

3. What happens in the story? (What’s the plot/purpose?)

In The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen has to fight in a deadly competition called the Hunger Games. What happens in your story? What does your character have to do? Consider your answers and see if a title pops out at you.

4. Be sneaky.

30 Seconds is named that way for multiple reasons. One is because of all of the action and how everything happens to fast…as in every thirty seconds. Though that is a bit of an exaggeration. There’s also a hidden romantic meaning behind the title. Can you come up with something cryptic that could get a reader guessing?

Here are some of my favorite titles:

Moonless (Crystal Collier)

Despite the Fangs (Dylan Newton)

52 Likes (Medeia Shariff)

Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc (PK Hrezo)

How to Date a Nerd (Cassie Mae)

So You Want to be a Wizard (Diane Duane)

The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)

A Child Called “It” (Dave Pelzer)

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (Rebecca Wells)

The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger)

SHARE: Your favorite book titles.

QUESTION: How did you come up with your book titles?

The First Sentence of a Book

The first sentence of a story is the most important sentence. It has to draw in the reader. It has to be able to bear the weight of the entire story, of the thousands of sentences that follow it. It’s a first impression and we all want to make a good first impression.

A boring first sentence may not break a story, but a first sentence that is either exciting, intriguing or funny will pique a reader's interest. A first sentence that invigorates a reader’s senses, opens a portal to a new world, or introduces the main character in a clever way will keep a reader reading and wanting more.

How do you know if your first sentence is a good one?

1. Look at it separately. Read it. What does it do? Does it evoke an emotion? Does it introduce a character or world? Does it lay the ground work for a mystery? If it does one of these things then the odds are that the sentence is good…or getting there.

2. Once the first sentence has a purpose, look at the words you’ve used. Are they weak? If so, replace them. Find stronger verbs, adverbs, and adjectives. Make them good!

3. Check out the writing. Is the first sentence as vivid as it could be if you’re using it to begin world building? Is it as suspenseful as it could be if it’s opening a thriller? If it’s introducing a character, does it paint a clear image and evoke the correct feelings you want your reader to have toward that character?

4. Examine the length. Shorter first sentences are better. At least in my experience. You don’t want a long-winded first sentence. Save some of that for the paragraph to follow. Shorter sentences means the reader will get to the next sentences faster. The sooner the reader can dive into your story the better.

5. Now read it with the following sentences. Although the first sentence has to be a winner, the others have to stand up and do their part too.

Here are the first three sentences of my published works:

HURRICANE CRIMES: She was going to die. At least according to the nervous weatherman on her flickering television screen. An image of what was supposed to be Florida wavered in and out, except it was barely visible beneath the swirling mass of a Category 5 hurricane named Sabrina, which seemed to have a vendetta against the Sunshine State.

30 SECONDS: Dani Hart jogged up the five flights of stairs to her small but homey apartment in the heart of Cleveland. Fresh snow soaked the bottom of her scrubs, the soles of her wet sneakers squeaked against the wood, and her white medical coat floated behind her. After pulling an all-nighter at the E.R., topped with three emergency operations, she couldn’t wait to sink into bed with a pint of coffee flavored ice cream.

GHOST OF DEATH: I’m dead. Jolie Montgomery didn’t know how she died, but all of a sudden she stood over her body in an alley. Her dark hair swam in a pool of blood.

WITCH OF DEATH: The moon was a ceramic bowl overflowing with milk in the amethyst sky, and all the stars were sugar crystals. At three o’clock in the morning, the suburban neighborhood slept with its manicured lawns, matching mailboxes, and cars parked in spotless driveways. All the residents were asleep in their beds, dreaming dreams of beauty, emptiness, and horror.

SHARE: One of your favorite first sentences from a published work or WIP.

Writer's Etiquette

Sometimes new/aspiring writers don’t know how to react in certain situations and tend to do the wrong thing. This post is full of DON’TS and will hopefully save many writers from committing these “crimes” that have no doubt aggravated others.

1. Don’t send agents/editors more than they want.

Closely read their submission guidelines on their website. First, make sure they are accepting submissions. Second, pay attention to how they want it. Some only accept e-queries. Some don’t want attachments. Third, double check their interests to make sure they accept your genre.

2. Don’t address your query letters with Dear Sir/Madam. (Same goes for emails to reviewers.)

Always know the agent’s/editor’s name and spell it correctly!

3. Don’t bug agents/editors.

In their guidelines, they often state how long you can expect to wait to get a reply back from them. Some will specifically say, “If you don’t hear back from us in yada-yada weeks then it’s a rejection.” Others will say, “If you don’t hear back from us in yada-yada weeks, send us an inquiry.” An inquiry through email or snail mail is a gentle reminder to check in on the status of your manuscript.

4. Don’t reply back to reviews on Amazon or Goodreads.

Not even if you want to thank someone for a good review and definitely not if you want to start a fight over a bad review. You can give a broad thank you statement in a Facebook status to thank everyone.

5. Don’t reply back to rejections!

You’re not the only one getting rejections, and far from the only person seeking publication. Rejections are part of the writer’s life and a badge all of us earn. Take the rejection graciously; crumple it up, set it on fire, or file it away, but don’t demand why you were rejected or say they made a mistake.

See: How to Handle Rejection

6. Don’t go back on your obligations.

If you have a deadline, meet it or ask for an extension. If you are scheduled to be a guest on someone’s blog, send them everything they need at least one week ahead of time. I had one person not send me anything at all even after I reminded him and he said he’d get it to me the next day. Even when the date passed for his guest post I never heard back from him.

If you host guests on your blog, schedule their posts so you don’t accidentally forget to post it on time.

7. Don’t ignore guest blogging instructions.

If you want to be a guest on someone’s blog, pay attention to the instructions they give you in the email or .DOC attachment they send you. For my author interviews, I have a list of questions the author can choose from, and I state in bold, red letters to only answer a total of ten, but I still have the occasional person answering all 28!

8. Don’t send an author an email to say how you would’ve wrote their book, a specific scene, or character.

You didn’t write the book and you don’t have the right to tell the author this. Besides, if it’s published, there’s nothing the author can do to fix what you think is wrong. Keep this to yourself. You can, however, email an author to let him/her know how much you loved their book...we love this!

9. Don’t assume someone will beta read your book, even if they beta read something for you in the past.

Always ask politely if they have the time and want to read your story. Send it only when they agree to help.

10. Don’t tell someone you’ll buy, read, and review their published work if you don’t intend to do any of those things.

This only creates false hope. Wishing them luck and telling them their book sounds interesting, though, is a common statement to make and totally fine because there's no promise in that comment.

11. Don’t be rude!

That’s what all of this boils down to.

More DONT'S from commenters:

Don't give all of your author friends 5-star reviews to get 5-star reviews back. Not only is this obvious, but they may not give you a 5-star back.

Don't engage trolls on social media. Rise above them.

Don't gossip or participate in controversial conversations on social media. It may come back to bite you.

Do be responsible and professional no matter what!

QUESTION: Do you have anything to add?

Pages

Write What Makes You Happy & Let Others Write What Makes Them Happy

The Big Leap / Books for Writers

My Farewell + Don't Shame Readers for What They Read (or Writers for What They Write)

Writing About Minor Characters Who Are People of Color / Vlog

How to Plant Red Herrings in Crime Novels / Guest Post by Damyanti Biswas

How to Be a Writer When You Can't Write

Writer's Burnout Part 6 (One Day at a Time)

Writer’s Burnout Part 4 (Morning Pages) + Google Plus

Writer's Burnout Part 3 (Writers Meetings)

Writer’s Burnout Part 2 (Write YOU)

Writer’s Burnout Part 1 (Speak)

Organization Tip: Word Count Calendar #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

Organization Tip - Writing Goals #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop

The Art of Naming a Book

The First Sentence of a Book

Writer's Etiquette