It’s often said that no one can be a harsher critic of a writer’s work than the writer themself. Not only are we the first readers, judges, and fans of our work, but we’re also the ones that tell ourselves that it sucks. Most of the time that’s right after we’ve typed “The End” and …
Continue reading 3 Essential Reminders For When (You Think) Your Manuscript Sucks
Recently, I received some feedback from beta readers after sending them what seemed like the millionth version of my latest WIP. Already up to draft 9, I was hoping this was the one where I’d ironed out the problems raised in the previous round of feedback. I had not. The issues were still there, and …
Continue reading What To Do When You’ve Made A Mess Of Your MS
Writing a book isn’t an easy task. Finishing it, selling it, pitching it, or submitting it, feels just as insurmountable some days. There are writers who never achieve such a milestone. Not because they didn’t want to—or try to—but because everything about writing is hard. You’ve got to think of a story. Write it. Re-write …
Continue reading Are You Doing Enough? And Other Questions From A Writer’s Overloaded Mind
Writers continually question themselves. Is this idea worth pursuing? Are my characters realistic? Is this plot twist surprising? Could I have worked harder to hit my word count? One of the most frustrating questions they ask is, Am I good enough? It’s frustrating because there isn’t a straight-up answer. There’s no test you can take …
At the end of November in 2015, I sent off my very first agent query. When I was rejected a few months later, it was 2016, and I committed to spending that year sending out more queries. It was a big step, and a process that saw me question if my MS was ready, stop …
As writers, we tend to carry on a lot of conversations in our heads; ones with characters, and ones with ourselves about plot twists and ideas. There's also that conversation we have every time we sit down at the keyboard, put pen to paper, or get ready to hit submit or publish. It's the conversation …
While writer's do have each others backs, after all, no one else knows better how much work goes into creating a book, there are occasions when along with the crippling self-doubt and frustrating writer's block, you will be struck down with writer envy. Writer envy usually rears its head when you see another writer post, …
Earlier this year a friend asked me to join a book club, and while the group was introducing themselves one lady said she was a writer. While introducing myself, I said everything but. I've been working on my YA series full-time for three years. Before that, writing professionally as a beauty writer/editor for nine, yet …
This week I nailed a writing goal and finished the fourth book in my YA series. Finally I had typed, “The End”, knowing I’d written everything that I wanted to. While there's still more editing to be done on this book and the other three—for now—the series is complete. That got me thinking, not only …
Continue reading The Lessons I learned After Writing Four Books
K.M. Allan 