It’s not a race – The fact that this or that person is published and you are not does not make you a failure, nor does it mean they will ultimately be more successful than you. You’ll get there.

It’s an art, but it’s also a business – Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes the business aspect of it is exhausting, frustrating, and will make you just want to forget the whole thing. Just as you must stick it out when the writing part sucks, you have to stick it out when the business part sucks. Don’t let the drudgery of business distract you from the art, and don’t let the art distract you from the business. It’s all about balance.

Ignore anyone who says "You’re not (insert famous author here), so you probably won’t…" - Stephen King was once an unpublished nobody. So was JK Rowling. Becoming a successful writer is not something that happens to “someone else”. “Someone else” worked hard and made it happen.

The fact that no one understands your deep writing is not a good thing – Write what makes you happy, follow your passions, and express yourself…but books are meant to be read and understood. Have you ever seen those student films that are so abstract and bizarre that no one but the director has a clue what any of it means? To the director, it’s a magnum opus of social commentary and an examination of the human condition, but to anyone else, it’s a bunch of high-brow nonsense on grainy film. Many writers do the same thing. Writing like that may make you happy, but if you’re writing for publication, then you’re writing to be read…and if you aren’t writing something that anyone without seven PhD’s will understand, you won’t be read.

Talking about your book and writing your book are two very different things – Stop talking about this great book you’re writing. Until words are on paper, you are not a writer…you are a talker. Sit down, put a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen in front of you…and write.

It’s an art, but it’s also a craft – Monet didn’t come out of the womb painting perfect lilies, and a writer should not expect to stroke a work of genius the first time their pen strikes paper. It's okay to write crap - that's how you learn to write stuff that isn't Read. And most of all, write. crap. Study writing. Work at it.

There is no magic formula – There is no perfect formula for a story. The only thing all good writing has in common is that it’s written. Some were written during the author’s strictly scheduled writing time. Some were written on cocktail napkins in between dinner meetings. Some were composed over a period of weeks. Some took years. Some were written longhand, some typed, some dictated. I’m sure that somewhere, someone has written a book by way of finger-painting. Whatever floats your boat…and gets your story on paper.

Don’t give up – Whatever you do…don’t give up.