40 Books Later: 10 Essential Writing Insights
by L.A. Mitchell
Book number one was a bit defiant and ugly. Professional book one, I should clarify. By this point, I had six finished manuscripts behind me. I had an agent. I was nominated for a national unpublished award. It was 2009, and I was on the cusp of a ten-year journey to busting past the gatekeepers of traditional publishing.
And then things fell apart. I caught my agent lying. The buy meetings in New York didn’t go as planned. And someone who claimed to support my dream gave me an ultimatum: make money at this or be done with it. Unacceptable, in retrospect, but the demand sent me to the creepy digital corridors of Craigslist. My first professional writing job was a romance novel for $1500.
This week, I began professional book number forty. In fifteen years, I’ve also written educational courses, white papers aimed at the Department of Defense, articles in glossy magazines, customer-facing content for an energy company, and cookbooks. These projects diversified my skills, but the forty books—eight genres, five three-book series, and a handful of category bestsellers—are the sweet spot of my strength.
I want their lessons to become the sweet spot of your strength.
A few may be difficult to process. This list of ten isn’t exhaustive and isn’t for the easily bruised. But if you’re confident that longevity in this industry is what you want, I have a few insights that might help you get there.
Define Your Freedom
And chase that. Happiness in this industry is found in freedom: freedom to pick the genre that ignites you, freedom to live as a digital nomad, freedom to quit your job, and freedom from the judgments of others and those who may give you ultimatums. Whatever your freedom, make that the cornerstone of your creative trajectory.
Fall in Love with Writing, Not Having Written
Most of my peers who fell away from writing were more in love with the fantasy of being a writer than with the grind of actually writing. They were product over process. It’s not necessary to love all aspects of the craft, but at least one element must become as natural and desirable to you as breathing. You cease to be the fullness of you without it. It becomes who you are, not what you do. That love won’t arrive during the first few projects, but it will come.
Writer’s Block is a Myth
It doesn’t exist. The romanticized notion of the tortured writer is nothing more than a fairy tale spun by our subconscious, with the help of pop culture, to justify being undisciplined. Stop with the nonsense. Rituals can be helpful in the first twenty-one days of establishing a new habit. After that, leave them behind, lest they become crutches on the path to writer’s block.
The Blinking Cursor Will Always Suck
All these books later, page one, indent, and go still gives me pause. That insecurity will likely still be there at book one hundred. Close your eyes, allow it to pass through you, then write. There is perfect, and there is perfect for now. Your book’s optimal opening is in the ending, anyway. You will circle back. You should circle back.
Develop a system for starting books to help you get past these feelings quickly, then don’t look back. My system is to write three possible half-page openings and then email them to my ideal reader. She picks her favorite, and I place the rest into a cut file to recycle elsewhere in the book. Your system may involve dictation, allowing yourself one hour—no more—to brainstorm twenty opening lines, or reviewing the slide show of your inspirational photos. Systems are rituals that work, so find yours.
Editing is the Magic
After all these years as an editor and writing coach, I’m still amazed at how many writers think the greatest burden of time is in drafting a book. They hear the legend of Dean Koontz, how he writes clean the first time and doesn’t look back, and believe his process to be the norm.
As a starting point, consider that editing should take four times longer and have the same intensity as drafting. My mentor told me the greats do a hundred self-editing passes. Technology makes this doable and efficient, so no whining. Be great.
You’re not looking for everything on every pass. Have one or two things in mind and pass through your pages, making only those things stellar. Give yourself a pat on the shoulder and start back at page one with a few more aspects of quality writing. It’s a grind, but it’s where the magic happens.
Keep a self-editing checklist.
This is a dynamic tool that changes as you evolve. When something that tripped you up before becomes intuitive, remove it from the list. When you learn something new, add it to the list so you can watch for it on one of those passes. If you expect your editor to do the heavy lifting of all those passes, you’ll go broke and never grow as a writer. Editors have amazing, advanced craft techniques to teach—those subtle elements that will elevate your writing, but we cannot always get to them through the dense forest of backstory dumps and split infinitives.
Relationships are Everything
You need emotional support from other writers. Non-writers simply don’t get it. It’s easy for us to remain in silos, content in our creative silence—especially those of us who are introverts—but it’s invaluable to get out of our heads at just the right moments: when we’re stuck on something, when we get a rejection and feel vulnerable, when we consider never writing again. Writing contests are, largely, a waste of resources that are better spent attending local or national conferences and expanding your network. There are writers out there who will appreciate your freak. Get out there and find them.
Start with the Ugly
This one is all about organization. Be a great project manager. Starting with the ugly is the premise that you first knock out the most undesirable items from your to-do list. I’m a quantity girl. Seeing three-fourths of my smaller gnat-ish tasks with a strikethrough permits me to dive deep into a book for six hours. Protect your creative hours with solid boundaries.
Know Your Secret Sauce
Find the common denominator in your writing, regardless of genre or task. Get to know your voice the way you know your shoe size or height. If you can’t articulate what distinguishes your writing from others, ask someone. If you don’t read your reviews (which is a bit delicate—after all, for longevity, the skin must be thick), ask a writing friend to troll through them and pull out the positive things reviewers mention more than once. Take that intel and write toward it. Make that secret sauce even more tasty.
Nurture Your Inspiration File
Revisit your inspiration notebook when you’re conceptualizing a new idea. I use these scattered nuggets in my clients’ books all the time. Of course, I hold a few of my best ones back, but as you write more, new and better ideas come. They are fireflies in your creative jar, but they don’t stay luminous forever. Give them away, and more will come.
Borrow From the World
Consistent writing space is helpful and solid, but don’t forget to venture out. Writing in other spaces is the perfect antidote to the rut of creation. If cafes aren’t in your budget, libraries and museums are amazing. When writing in public, I pluck details of my surroundings and plant them in my stories like found seeds. One day, those specifics will sprout in the reader’s mind, but at the moment of creation, such a practice feels indulgent and synergistic—a secret known only to you.
Writing longevity isn’t precious. Some days are still filled with bad writing and self-doubt. New clients bring seemingly impossible asks—write as if you’re a boy in 1940s North Korea, you’re barefoot inside a hut in Sierra Leone, you’re the mastermind behind a skyscraper’s structure, you’re inside an arranged marriage at thirteen. It would be easy to say no, I don’t think I can write that. But I did. And I can.
So, too, can you.
My experience extends in all directions. Imagine the power of longevity inside the same industry lane. Whatever your path, listen to those ahead and reach a helpful hand backward to emerging writers. Writing karma is real, and you’ll want to stay on the up side of things.
Writers in the Storm is a fantastic resource filled with talented individuals, so let’s have fun with the comments today. No matter where you are in your writing journey, offer up one lesson you have learned along the way that would be useful to the writer you were on day one.
* * * * * *
About L.A.
L.A. (Laura) Mitchell is a seasoned ghostwriter with 39 published works behind her. Her expertise spans genres, from heartwarming romances to thought-provoking non-fiction. Her YA fantasy, Farthermost, originally a ghostwritten novel for which she purchased the rights back, was an April 2023 feature of Amazon's Kindle Vella program. Beyond writing, Laura is a coach, editor, and publishing assistant, helping authors refine their craft and achieve a successful book launch. In her downtime, she’s also learning Korean to move away from subtitles while binging the latest Kdramas. She loves meeting writers at all stages, so reach out to her through her socials or website and subscribe to her biweekly newsletter for writers.
Farthermost: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLY3CQB7/
Website: https://www.la-mitchell.com
Top Image created by L.A, Mitchell with Google's ImageFX AI software.
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35 comments on “40 Books Later: 10 Essential Writing Insights”
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A great list, Laura. Thanks for publishing it.
Thank you, V.M. 🙂
This is great stuff! So much of this list rings true and affirms some of my practices. All of it, honestly. I’m shocked in a good way. I learned a couple important things, too, like I have done too many contests. I thought this was obligatory as an unpublished writer to keep me moving forward. They are so painful. Thanks for this gift!
As with everything writing related, there should be no absolutes. But I am heartbroken when any of my clients look to contests to validate them. I have worked on these contest committees early on in my journey, and they're looking for warm bodies to judge them. You may get lucky and get an experienced judge, but mostly you're getting other untested writers trying to prove how much they know (and they're often wrong). Contests have value if they are a means to getting your manuscript in front of certain industry people or opportunities for advancement you wouldn't otherwise have access to. Otherwise, do you really want newbies critiquing and possibly causing damage to your creative fire? That gives them way too much power. You deserve better! You've got this. 🙂
Longevity in writing has to be cultivated. I equate it to burning of the coal, to such a degree that one day, it shines like a diamond. Let’s keep writing.
I love this analogy. So true.
🥰
Prompt response: I'd go back and tell myself to gather writing friends like rare coins, because you'll learn something from each one, that sometimes rejections lead to different and better opportunities, that writing apprenticeship takes nine years and a million words - on average - so don't be in a surface hurry and take the time to dig deep. Oh, and I'd tell you that brutal critique from the romance author in Memphis that put you in tears? Go see the Peabody ducks instead of crying in your room. She never got to forty. 🙂
I'm not new to this writing life and it feels good to get the energy bubbling from this article. Thank you!
Curses! I’ve been kicked out of the Writer’s Block Café. No more whining about how reviews from The Golden Heart killed my glee and confidence. It’s about time. The café converted to a nut factory a year ago. Thanks for the kick in the arse, L.A. (Don’t the Brits have a plethora or cuss words that sound clean on this side of the pond?)
I’d know your voice if I were reading a book largely dictated by someone else. It’s not just the Margie Magic tricks we share. If I had to pick out one talent I’d love to emulate, it would be your dialog tags. They’re often so powerful, I reread them just for the fun of it. More compelling than that? Your discipline …
Love of the writing process — and leaving inner editor Gracie in a locked box in my closet —is something I lost. Today I’ll write without thinking about someone reading over my shoulder. Hand me a crayon and the kids menu when we next meet for lunch and don’t let me eat until I’ve written something.
You’re an inspiration with talent and determination. I h-a-t-e those pesky NDAs. If you respond, please give me some clues on where to find more of your books. The ones I haven’t been privileged to edit. Use teeny, tiny type with no spaces and no one will know the difference.
OMG...I love this <3 *This* is why writers are my peeps.
Let's all buy a city block together. We'll call it Writer's Block but fill it with the kind of real estate that makes creatives shine: bookstores, cafes, learning spaces, costume shops, VR labs, art studios. To gain access, you have to punch a ticket for an hour of butt-in-chair writing. It would be the ultimate anti-writer's block.
Thank you for all the warm fuzzies. I believe in you! No one on this planet can tell a story the way Gloria tells it. Stop denying the world your talents.
Hear, hear! I've been waiting to see Gloria share her magic with the world. But she's a non-submitter after my own heart. I will AND you will, right Gloria??
That not all critiques and critique groups are created equal. Find those who see your great and your weaknesses and help you strengthen both!
Critique groups are challenging enterprises. When they work, they're invaluable. When they fall apart, they can be damaging and zap creative energy. It is absolutely true that there are writers out there who will lift you. Be persistent in finding them.
Fantastic list - thank you. They were just what I needed this morning.
(((Hugs))) to someone from my long-ago journey! You so inspired me back then. Thank you!!
Excellent advice! I’m currently working on my tenth professional novel (fifteenth overall) and this resonates so much. Thank you.
A few things I’ve learned the hard way:
Embrace the messy of the first draft.
Study story structure, it’s the key to writing fiction that works, and then internalize it so that you can write in flow.
Understand that your inner troll/critic will always be hovering in the background, trying to tell you to give up this book, delay writing this one, and urge you to distract yourself from your writing. Find ways to ignore it.
I’m in awe of your prolific writing in multiple genres. Any tips for writing in more than one genre? Do you ever work on more than one book at the same time?
Yes, yes, yes to messy first drafts and story structure. Great advice, Dale.
As far as writing in multiple genres, I've found that all readers just want to be taken on a journey. Even business readers are tired of boring books and want to sink into a story. The way to get people to move from point A to point B is to find a touchpoint of emotion. So I figure out ways to infuse elements I've learned as a fiction writer into all projects. Of course, this is easier in some genres than others. I adore writing memoir...so much emotion already waiting for me.
Writing more than one book at a time? I would LOVE to, but I can't. That would mean fracturing my creative energy, which isn't fair to either project. I usually take care of other tasks when my creative energy for the day is tapped out, like uploading to Amazon or posting on socials, but never during my writing time.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience 🙂 Congrats on fifteen projects...that's amazing!!
Study story structure, it’s the key to writing fiction that works
Dale, can you give me a bit more on this? Do you mean avoiding the saggy middle? I want to do a check-in on this.
Thanks for the tip!
Hi Ellen,
I mean both avoiding the saggy middle and in general. For the saggy middle, James Scott Bell’s book, Write Your Novel From the Middle really helped with his concept of the mirror moment at the midpoint. Bell wrote the now classic “Plot & Structure,” which I recommend. Larry Brooks’s Story Engineering looks at 7 point structure to help with both a strong middle and a compelling story overall.
Full disclosure: I’m a biweekly blogger at the Kill Zone mystery and thriller writer blog, and will in fact have a post on plotting advice tomorrow 🙂
Hope this helps!
thank you, Dale. Appreciate the guidance and resources!
Ellen
Laura, I love this article--realistic, clear-eyed, but practical. I think you're onto the recipe for building a successful, long-lasting, happier writing career an author can feel like they have agency over, instead of battered by every breeze that blows in this industry. I'll be sharing!
Thanks so much for sharing, Tiffany. In many ways, this may have been easier for me because I took the ghostwriting route. There's probably another article in there...what happens to a writer when she monetizes her passion?...but I guess that's for another day. 🙂 Great to *meet* you.
I need to do better in leaving time for more editing passes and remember to look at that list my awesome editor (that'd be you) created for me.
We'll need to chat about our common experience of having our literary agent lie to us. I would have respected mine if she'd said, "This isn't selling to trads right now" and we could have pivoted or parted ways and I could have self-pubbed sooner rather than her lie about submitting a partial MS and lie to my face when we met at RWA about it.
I have the freedom to write what I want and that brings me joy along with reading praise-filled reviews.
OMG...maybe we had the same agent! It was around the same time. I love your freedoms, and they are bringing you much success. So great to see you over here. <3
Beautiful, Laura - thank you! My one bit of advice? Don't think too deeply. Do it because you love it and then just keep going. Avoid the angst like the quicksand it is.
Angst *is* like quicksand. Great advice, Lisa 🙂
Love this list, Laura! Your practical nut-n-bolts approach is always inspiring. I have to remind myself more often to "Start with the Ugly" lest that stuff hangs over me all day and saps my creative energy. My advice to myself from way back when? Re critique groups: "Listen carefully for feedback that strikes a chord, but beware writing by committee. Never forget it's your story."
Great advice, Sabine. Nothing kills a story's fire like writing by committee. Thanks so much for popping over. 🙂
So well put! Thank you for putting these wonderful insights and tips together for writers. I’m posting these on my white board!
Thank you, Sherry 🙂 Best wishes on your journey ahead!
Writing is harder than it looks...
Tony said the quiet part out loud. 🙂 So, so true.
I'm late to the party, but I'm so grateful to make it inside the door. Your pearls of wisdom continue to shine. When I grow up - I want to be you. Thank you for the insights and reminding us - writers - to believe in ourselves most of all. The drugery of writing housekeeping is necessary to enjoy benefit of a finished product.
I'm starting an inspiration file - one specifically to motivate me as a writer. Love that tip.
As to the secret sauce, thanks for ihighlighting the tidbits in my writing and teaching me to shine them up.
As always, you're an amazing writer. And an even better person. Thanks for comtinuing to be my writing guru.
Sandra
What sweet words. Thank you, Sandra. 🙂 I am so blessed that we have shared our writing journeys!!