By using the word "mistakes" in the title of this entry, I'm not referring to faulty technique or grammar glitches. Those are problems easily remedied with a couple of good handbooks or a remedial course in the basics. This has to do with some of the more common pitfalls the newly published or not-yet-published but aspiring writer can venture into--pitfalls can that can set a career back or even cripple it.
On the surface, those pitfalls often appear good--helpful. In reality, they're usually harmful. That's why I've thought about writing this entry for a long time: I've seen some promising writing ministries damaged or lost altogether because of these mistakes or others. There's so much the new writer can't know about publishing--because there hasn't been time to learn it. Yet the fact that these traps continue to flourish and proliferate in ways we couldn't have imagined before the internet needn't discourage the careful writer who genuinely seeks only real opportunity and who is resolved to be discerning and cautious about the steps she takes and the road he follows on the writing journey.
So have a caution about the following:
1. Don't try to "sell" your ambitions or aspirations if they exceed your abilities.
It takes some time to learn just what you're capable of as a writer. You may dash off some articles or projects or even a book that seemed to flow easily and surprisingly quickly. So why not take a leap of faith with the same publisher--or the next--and allow yourself to be contracted for an entire series of articles or a multi-book project? ("They like me--they really like me!") Sure, the deadline in the contracts appears awfully tight--perhaps even improbable or impossible for a lesser writer--but look at what I just accomplished! This will be a piece of cake. Bring those deadlines on. I can handle 'em!
The truth is that your initial forays into publishing may not realistically represent your capabilities over the long haul. Hit yourself over the head with this old saying a few times and pay heed to it: don't bite off more than you can chew. Until you've got a few successful projects--be they articles or books or whatever you're writing--be careful not to overreach. Your reputation will suffer if you fail--and so will your emotional (and sometimes physical) health. Better to take things one at a time at the beginning and please your publisher by producing what you said you would than to make wild commitments and not be able to keep them.
2. Be very careful who you listen to. Be discerning and make certain that the instruction and advice you receive (and act upon) comes from reliable, reputable, experienced, and expert sources.
If you're on the lookout to improve your craft and refine your skills--and sell your work--you will be hard-pressed to avoid the counsel of any number of "experts" offering their superior advice and suggestions as to the best way to accomplish your goals. I don't believe I'm exaggerating when I say that for every one "expert" genuinely qualified to give you advice or suggestions, there are twenty others out there offering up all kinds of help on myriad matters--who aren't really qualified to do so. Here's the rub: many of these "experts" aren't expert. Even so, they're everywhere. Let me be blunt: you'll find them online--in writers' groups, on Web sites, on blogs, in book clubs, in e-zines, in chat rooms. They're in classrooms. A few show up at writers' conferences and seminars (though many of these organizations have closely screened faculty, allowing for a greater degree of reliability and expertise). Unfortunately, some are even agents.
So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? How can you possibily know who's credible? Well, for starters, be careful where you look. For example, blogs and e-zines abound with "tips for writers." Some of these are well worth your attention. Others--not. What are the credentials and experience of the one writing those "tips?" A couple of published books or articles doesn't necessarily translate to expertise. With an established author who has several books in print with a reputable publishing house, and perhaps has also had experience as a teacher or an instructor in some capacity, along with a good reputation for excellence in his or her craft as well as a background in creative writing and other areas of publishing--you might be on safe ground.
But be wary of those who have little to show in the way of publishing accomplishments, who often haven't published anything at all for a significant period of time, and who seem to be more interested in building a reputation for themselves as experts in a certain field--or often in more than one field ... rather than those who earnestly desire to help you and have the credentials and the heart to do so.
At the risk of sounding cynical (and I suppose I am, to a point) there are many self-proclaimed experts on the internet--especially on blogs and other networking sites--who spend far more time in building their own "hits" and reputation than in improving their personal craft and experience, while enabling themselves to help further your abilities. So make the effort to do some checking, and don't fall into the trap of wasting your time in places where the suggestions and advice may prove more misleading than constructive. And if you happen to land on a site where (1) the "instructor" seems to be an expert in half a dozen areas (sometimes called "jack of all trades and master of none") or where (2) most of the advice is negative: i.e., of the type that presumes to "teach" by showing what everyone else is doing wrong ... run, don't walk, to a better place.
3. Don't be premature in shopping for an agent. If you have no work to show an agent--no completed projects or some kind of publishing credentials other than your high school or college yearbook--wait.
Agents want to know what you're capable of. They want to see what you can do or what you've done. Better yet, they're going to be far more interested in representing you if you actually have an offer for a contract from a reputable publisher. So concentrate on getting some work finished and in excellent shape before you try to sell yourself to an agent. Begin to build a publishing history or portfolio and get yourself into a position where agents will take a second look at you and your potential.
If you pursue an agent too soon and are rejected, then if and when the time comes when you really need an agent and have some quality work to offer, you just might be ignored.
4. Save yourself some grief: don't try to publish because you want to improve your finances.
I'm not saying it won't happen. You may very well, in a reasonable length of time, be able to add a tidy sum to your bank account. I'm simply suggesting ... strongly ... that money not be your motivation for aiming toward a career in publising. In my estimation, anything short of a divine call to write (or an involuntary fit of madness) can set you on a road to more pain than progress, more failure than fame. Writing (and ultimately publishing) is a difficult, consuming, often tedious and trying, sometimes frustrating and wearying process. To pursue it without the strongest of motivations seems, to me at least, an exercise in futility. Yes, it has its joys and its rewards. But you earn them. Emphasis on earn.
5. Don't compare yourself with others.
I probably should have brought this up first. Of all the debilitating, discouraging, even devastating mistakes a writer--any writer--can make, it's to compare your abilities, your skills, your work with those of another writer.
You are the only competition you should ever have. Compete against the last book you wrote, or the last article, the last poem--and compete against only that. Strive to become better with each project, not better than another writer. Don't measure or judge your abilities against those of Stephen King or Joyce Carol Oates. God didn't give you the gift of writing so you could strive to be better than another writer or see yourself as less. He will give you the work that He wants done, the work He trusts you to do, and He expects you to do it. To the best of your ability. Of course, He wants you to set your standards high and continue to improve your skills. Your standards. Your skills.
Take my word for this, because I've seen it happen: nothing will defeat a writer--a beginner or a long-time pro--more surely than this self-annihilating comparison to others. Don't do it. It can become a habit, and it's a deadly one.
6. Don't get impatient with yourself or the process.
I could give you testimony after testimony, example after example, of writers who spent twenty years becoming an "overnight success." (But then you'd think I was trying to discourage you.) In truth, there simply aren't that many overnight success stories in publishing. A few, yes. Sometimes the overnight successes endure and go on to even greater things; sometimes they're nothing more than a flash in the pan. But the real successes usually take time and more time. Years, more often than not. If I hadn't committed to God right from the beginning to look upon this journey called writing as just that--a journey--if the destination had been my goal rather than the travel itself ... I wouldn't have made it. And I know many, many other authors who feel the same way. It's the process itself ... and the people we meet along the way, the relationships and friendships we forge ... it's the work, the experience, the journey that keeps us going and makes it worthwhile.
So give yourself time--years, if that's what it takes. And don't look too far ahead. Keep your eyes on today and the One you're following. Let Him fill your hours and your days, and don't ever assume you've reached your "destination." With God, there's always more to learn, more to do--and the time passes, oh, so quickly. Don't waste it by dreaming of "some day." Cherish it all--this day.
BJ
Q. I've noticed you use a lot of quotes and often talk about A. W. Tozer. Who is he?