Great Advice for SciFi Writers

An Oldie but a Goodie

Helen de Cruz wrote an interesting post I wished I had found a few years ago about publishing science fiction. Like many of us, she went down the path of getting a lot of rejections and taking perhaps too much writing advice.

I was lucky to get some very nice (if there is such a thing) personal rejections early on. But it was frustrating to rack up so many rejections! Especially when my non-fiction sells with no problems at all.

A few other points she makes that I agree with:

• Writing advice is good, but you can overanalyze your writing.
• Start the story quickly while people are still giving you their attention.
• If someone tells you they don’t like something, they are right. They may not be right about what’s wrong with it or how to fix it, but they don’t like it, and that’s always true.

Of course, that last point doesn’t mean that most people won’t like it. But it does mean at least one person doesn’t like it, and that bears thinking about. If ten people tell you they don’t like something, then you really should think about it hard.

If you are frustrated at rejections, it is worth a read not just for encouragement, but for actual advice.