BY CELESTE COX
- “Learn to love rewriting, revision and editing as much as you love drafting. You’re only making the book better.”
—C Michelle Jefferies, author of EMERGENCE
http://www.cmichellejefferies.com
- “Archive – nothing you write is ever a waste of time. You never know when those half finished snippets and abandoned ideas will find new life in another project.”
—TC Phillips
Author of “Ripper Bound,” a short story in, TERRA MECHANICA: A STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY
http://www.cobblestonescribe.com
- “Write because you love it, not because you’re expecting a big payoff. The biggest reward is having a book that you are genuinely proud of. Sure the royalties can be nice, but only if you put out a good product. Take the time to make your book be the best that it can be, then be prepared to market, market, market!”
—Stephanie Worlton, author of ALL THE FINER THINGS and HOPE’S JOURNEY
http://www.stephanieworlton.com
- “Write the book that you love because you’ll be in this for the long haul. Share your manuscript with a diverse circle. Be open to learn and grow as a writer through edits. Edit, edit, edit. And then edit some more. When you finally have a polished product you feel you can be proud of, let go and take a leap of faith. Share it with the world. Your voice and perspective matter. It’ll be scary but exhilarating and liberating. Be kind to others – writers and non-writers alike – and others will be kind back to you.”
—Jewel Allen, author of GHOST MOON NIGHT
www.JewelAllen.com
- “Get in a critique group. Giving and receiving feedback can teach you a lot. Most importantly you need to learn that everyone is offering their opinion and you don’t have to make them happy. Along those lines—don’t believe all you hear about writing. Some rules aren’t really rules. It’s your story. Do it your way.”
—Krista Wayment author of DRAGON’S TRUST Book 1 and 2
http://www.kristawayment.com/books
- “Push through. Even when you’re thinking, this is a bunch of crap, sometimes, you’ll come back and say, wow. When did I write that? As for the rest if the time, that counts toward your million words of bad writing.”
—Penny Freeman
Author of “Tropic of Cancer,” a short story in, MECHANIZED MASTERPIECES: A STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY, and “Crossroads” in SHADES AND SHADOWS: A PARANORMAL ANTHOLOGY
http://pennyfreeman.com
- “My personal mantra is ‘write with passion; succeed with self-discipline’ but I suggest every writer find a mantra to help ground their goals and desires as they pursue the dream they love.”
—Shannon A. Thompson, author of TAKE ME TOMMORROW, MINUTES BEFORE SUNSET, and SECONDS BEFORE SUNRISE
http://shannonathompson.com/novels/
- “A great deal of people confuse the definition of writing. The parameter of the term doesn’t begin with jotting things down. It doesn’t even start with an idea. The definition of writing starts with our various needs regarding writing. Some, like journalist, may write to be involved in current events. Others, like poets, write as a way to pull the morsels of the soul. Each has a muse that extends beyond the medium. Therefore, each writer, for themselves, has to discover the reason for his pursuit for any kind of longevity. In doing so, a writer must accept that writing is a means and not an end. That the transcendent “thing”, produced through writing, should be maintained as the goal.”
—J. E. Sipes, author of THE SUN IN OUR BELLIES
https://www.facebook.com/J.E.Sipes
- “The ease of self-publishing is too often a trap that can beguile us into releasing something before we’re ready, and that’s dangerous because you may think you’re selling a story, but you’re not. You’re selling your reputation. Stephen King, J.K. Rowlings, George R.R. Martin all told really compelling stories and because of that we know their names. If you get the reputation of writing terrible books, it will stay with you a long time. So my advice, don’t rush headlong into self-publishing until you know you’re good. You’re not selling books, you’re building a reputation and that reputation, good or bad, will determine if you sell books. Make it a good one.”
—Jonathan Goff, author of THE RUNE THAT BINDS and A SEASON OF STORMS
http://amzn.to/ZNIlQ5
- “Read as much as you write. Being well versed in the literary field and a frequent reader helps your imagination to continue expanding, even if your life feels like it’s standing still. Never forget that no matter the outcome, your story matters.”
—Emma Michaels, author of OWLET and “By Skyfall,” a short story in LEGENDS AND LORE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS
www.EmmaMichaels.com
- “My advice would be to ‘not give up’, no matter how hard it seems. It’s taken me neigh unto… oh about fifteen years now, to get my first story, The Unknown Elf, from rough draft to in print, but I did it. Also, don’t be afraid to have several different projects going at the same time. When you get stuck on one, you can move onto the next, until you get stuck there, and wash, rinse, repeat.”
—Karlie Lucas, author of THE UNKOWN ELF
http://amzn.to/1uEP1Z1
- “Muses help those who help themselves. Trying to create is the best invocation.”
—Danielle E. Shipley, author of “Two Spoons,” a short story in LEGENDS AND LORE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS, and all four books in THE WILDERHARK TALES
www.deshipley.com
- “Tell the story you want, not the one you think your readers will want.”
—Joanne Kershaw
Author of the VANGUARD LEGACY: FORETOLD (2013), REFLECTED (2014), FATED (2015)
https://www.facebook.com/Joanne.Kershaw.Author
—M. K. Wiseman
Author of “Downward Mobility,” a short story in LEGENDS AND LORE: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS and “Clockwork Ballet” in MECHANIZED MASTERPIECES: A STEAMPUNK ANTHOLOGY
http://mkfauble.wix.com/home
Editor’s note: when Celeste posited this question to The X Team authors group on Facebook, James Potter wrote the following and posted it on his Facebook feed. It is well-worth the share.
Even though you may have grand designs in your head for where you want to go (this isn’t restricted to just writing, but any life goals), it’s good to lo…
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Celeste Cox is a superhero by day and a writer by night. She’s also the publicist for The X. When she isn’t performing all her superhero publicist duties, she spends her time on her blog, A Happy Messy Life, and wishing she was a mermaid so she could swim at the beach all day. Celeste loves the marketing world and figuring out what makes it tick.