18 Tips from Authors Who Broke In in 2023
One of my favorite aspects of my job is that I get to head up the Breaking In column in Writer’s Digest magazine. The column aims to feature three debut authors in every issue, celebrating their publication dates, reflecting on their writing and publishing journey so far, and finding out what’s next for them!
They also are generous enough to share some advice for writers. Let’s take a look at what they thought was the most important piece of advice they could share:
“It’s really hard but try to enjoy and celebrate each step. If you’re querying, try to enjoy the fact that your work is on an agent’s desk. If you’re on submission, try to enjoy the fact that it’s in the hands of an editor. Even if ultimately you’re disappointed, there are things to shout about and be proud of along the way.” —Sarah Daniels, The Stranded (YA near-future thriller, Sourcebooks Fire)
“The best advice I ever received came from Chuck Rosenthal, one of my professors at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He always told us to keep moving forward and not get hung up on revising early chapters, because you might not know what needs to be on the first page until you’ve written the last page.” —Miya T. Beck, The Pearl Hunter (middle-grade fantasy, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)
“I love the idea of ‘parking downhill’. At the end of a writing day, if you are energized and have ideas on how to keep going with a scene or a chapter, keep a little of that back for the following day. That way, you pick up your draft knowing what comes next, rather than spending ages trying to get back into the story.” —Eleanor Shearer, River Sing Me Home (historical fiction, Berkley/Penguin Random House)
“Write, read, run. As much as you can. Especially run—or walk! Your mind and body will thank you.” —Kara Gnodde, The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything (book club fiction, HarperCollins)
“I use Freedom, the internet-blocking app, constantly while writing. I’ve found it to be the best way to push out the distractions of daily life and become immersed in the world I’m writing.” —Michelle Min Sterling, Camp Zero (literary speculative fiction, Atria)
“Trust your gut. Forget what you think publishers want to buy. When doubt settles in (Oh, heavens! This is too crazy/bad/clichéd/etc.) lean into the worst of it, laugh with and at it, tell yourself you’ll fix it later, and when later comes, at least in my experience, 8 times out of 10 what you wrote will contain some of the liveliest/coolest/original bits of work.” —Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Monstrilio (Literary Horror, Zando)
“Write the shitty first draft and let it be shitty. Striving for perfection on a first draft only results in stagnation. Let it be an unconscious stream and trust the process.” —Neely Tubati-Alexander, Love Buzz (women’s fiction/contemporary romance, Harper Perennial)
“I would encourage writers to be easy on themselves and keep going, despite the challenges and setbacks. Even when you’re not actually writing, you can always think and dream about your work. That counts, right?” —Idman Nur Omar, The Private Apartments (literary short fiction, House of Anansi)
“Being a wunderkind is overrated. For many of us, the path to publication is a long one. Learning to deal constructively with rejection is a vital part of the writing life.
“Also, get a second monitor for your laptop. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it will make writing and editing much less overwhelming.” —Greg Marshall, Leg (memoir, Abrams Press)
“Writing is a spiritual act. I don’t know if anyone actually told me this or if I was smart enough to figure it out all on my own, but I really do believe it. I feel like stories and ideas come through me and it’s my job to stay open to them. Whether you believe in God or not, it doesn’t really matter, but I think being in the flow of writing is a very Zen-like, spiritual state of being, and it’s important to stay connected to that aspect of things even while you’re trying to hustle. Oh, and show don’t tell.” —Shideh Etaat, Rana Joon and the One and Only Now (YA, Atheneum)
“Listen to your editor. Anne Sowards is a treasure, and her advice is golden. Also, I enroll every quarter at Seattle’s Hugo House and, though I’m no poet myself, insert myself into their classes because poets are my biggest literary crush. Poetry reminds me to pay attention, and it challenges me to rethink how I use prose in my storytelling.” —Lauren J.A. Bear, Medusa’s Sisters (historical fantasy, Ace)
“Read! You have to read a lot! You can’t expect other people to read your stuff if you aren’t reading yourself. Reading is the best cure for writer’s block, hands down. Read outside your genre, read all the books!” —Lauren Danhof, It’s Not a Cult (dark comedy/book club fiction, Alcove Press)
“Sprinting! I learned this tip from Ava Wilder, another of Jessica’s authors. When I need to write but I’m feeling unsure where to start, I set a timer for 20 minutes and just write, no distractions, no stopping to think, no editing as I go. It really helps me turn off the part of my brain that constantly worries about whether what I’m writing is good, which can ultimately inhibit my creativity and my productivity. Even if what I write requires more cleanup than usual (though it doesn’t always!), it gets me started.” —Rachel Runya Katz, Thank You for Sharing (romance, St. Martin’s Griffin)
“The only truism in writing is that everything you write has to be for a purpose. I don’t believe in didactic advice that tells you which adverbs not to use or which sorts of openings never work, etc., etc. The only rule I have is to ‘do things for reasons’—writing at its root is putting down a series of words one after the other, and which words you choose in which specific context is going to inform how an audience perceives the embedded meaning. Understand the textual and subtextual implications of your words, and you’ll have control over your prose. That’s the only thing that matters.” —Em X. Liu, The Death I Gave Him (science fiction, Solaris)
“Follow the heat. Write what excites you, and use the pleasure of writing to find momentum.” —Shannon Sanders, Company (story collection, Graywolf Press)
“Try to find a writer’s group, even if you have to pay to join one or start one yourself. The critique, support, and encouragement you get is invaluable and once you start seeing other writers getting published, you start to taste the possibility and then there’s no turning back.” —Kehinde Fadipe, The Sun Sets in Singapore (mainstream women’s fiction, Grand Central Publishing)
“Once you’ve sat with the story, my biggest advice is to get it down on the page as best you can! That first draft is the hardest; there’s always a reason you can give yourself to not keep going – whether it’s ‘I’m rubbish at this’ or ‘I should be answering my emails’, but just stick with it! Once you have something to shape, you have a draft of a novel, and that’s certainly something to be celebrated.” —Clementine Taylor, Something About Her (romance, Putnam)
“Stream of Consciousness Writing—welcome all the thoughts and observe what you uncover.” —Zain Bandilo, Mehndi Boy (early reader illustrated chapter book, Annick Press)
When you take this online writing course, you’ll discover your voice, learn the basics of grammar, and examine the different types of writing. No matter what type of writing you’re planning on crafting—nonfiction or fiction—you’ll need guidance along the way.