From Kristen Weber - 10 Things I Need Every Writer to Know

 

I tend not to post too much writing advice (mainly, with one novel under my belt, I hardly feel like an expert), but I have learned a few things along this long road.

I got this from Kristen Weber (you can find her substack) and found it to be really solid, so thought I'd share.

Any thoughts?


10 Things I Need Every Writer to Know


After years of editing manuscripts and talking writers through everything from first drafts to crushing rejection, there are certain truths I keep coming back to again and again. Not “rules.” Just the things I most wish writers understood earlier before they wasted time, lost confidence, or convinced themselves they were failing when they were actually learning.

Readers, Agents, Editors and Publishers do not owe you anything. Your job is to give them a story they cannot put down.

Start the story sooner. Too many writers spend chapters preparing to tell the story instead of actually telling it. Make sure the plot is invited in…fast.

Pretty writing is not enough. A gorgeous sentence cannot save a manuscript without stakes, movement, and emotional payoff.

Your first manuscript may simply be your apprenticeship. Sometimes Book One only exists to teach you how to write the book that finally changes everything.

Revision is not failure. Your finished draft still needs work because every real book becomes itself through rewriting.

Readers only see the page. They do not know your intentions or the version in your head. Clarity matters.

Stop tiptoeing around your own story. Go deeper emotionally. Let characters make mistakes. Let things become uncomfortable and human.

Publishing is subjective, but craft still matters. You cannot control timing or trends, but you can keep becoming better on the page.

Protect your joy. The writers who survive this business are usually the ones who refuse to let publishing destroy their love of storytelling.

Do not decide your story has failed before you even try. People finish books every day. People get agents every day. People build writing careers every day. There is no reason you cannot become one of them.

Writing is hard because you are making something out of nothing. That will never stop being brave. So take what helps, leave what doesn’t, and keep going. Your readers are out there waiting for the story only you can tell.