10 Publishing Myths by W. Terry Whalin || Book Review by Deborah Lyn Stanley

 

  “10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed” by W. Terry Whalin

Published by Morgan James Publishing, Morgan James

“10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed” is a must read for writers no matter where you are in your writing career. Each Myth is real and presented in an inspiring move forward, practical argument, from a writer who’s been there.

Some of my favorite parts include:
1.    Take responsibility for your work,
2.    Create your own marketing plan and make it happen,
3.    A great way to start out publishing your work is to write for magazines,
4.    Every time you connect with an editor or agent you are making an impression—make it a good one!

W. Terry Whalin gives helpful recommendations and references to further your writing career. He talks about growing your skills by making a commitment to study the craft of writing by reading how-to books consistently, month by month. Take the long view of success, little steps to promote your writing and yourself over time.

I recommend this book for every writer and aspiring author.
It is loaded with practical tips and actionable direction.

Thank you, W. Terry Whalin for providing me a review copy of “10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed”. I was not required to write a positive review, I receive no compensation, and it was my choice to write this review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.


Find Terry’s Books:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/10-Publishing-Myths-Insights-Succeed/dp/164279452X

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48921823-10-publishing-myths-insights-every-author-needs-to-succeed   

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written for over 50 magazines and more than 60 books with traditional publishers.  His latest book for writers is  Book Proposals That $ell (the revised edition) released to online and brick and mortar bookstores. Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief at Midwest Book Review wrote, “If you only have time to read one ’how to’ guide to getting published, whether it be traditional publishing or self-publishing, “Book Proposals That Sell” is that one DIY instructional book.” You can get a free Book Proposal Checklist on the site. He lives in Colorado and has over 190,000 twitter followers.

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author of Creative Non-Fiction. She writes articles, essays and stories. She is passionate about caring for the mentally impaired through creative arts.
Visit her My Writer’s Life website at: https://deborahlynwriter.com/   
Visit her caregiver’s website: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/

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Deliberate Practice and the Writer

woodleywonderworks / Foter / CC BY

If you want to be the very best writer you can be, if you want to master your writing craft,  it is going to take practice and you will have to do it deliberately. 

If you have not heard of deliberate practice, it's a thing! 

John Hayes, a cognitive psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University, spent many years researching talented individuals like Mozart and Picasso to understand how they became masters of their craft. He discovered a common thread - it took them 10 years! Further research found this was true of other notable people, as well.

Time was not the only key, but "deliberate practice" - a theory identified through the research of Swedish psychologist, Dr. K. Anders Ericsson - involving consistent and deliberate work to improve performance.  This concept believes innate talent isn't the indicator of success, but practicing methods for improved performance.

Some do not agree with this theory in its entirety, believing that talent does play a part, but I think we can glean some solid information.

Deliberate practice may be common with musicians, athletes, and painters. But how can it apply to writing?  Writer/Editor Chris Jones says this: 

The concept of deliberate practice demands that you acquire new writing skills or strengthen weaker ones while building on the existing foundation you've already established.

It is making time to consistently and deliberately practice, resulting in improvement and mastery.  Jones suggests identifying your top 2 or 3 areas of weakness  and setting aside 30 minutes a day on focusing to make those areas stronger.

Author and writing teacher Barbara Braig suggests writing down the skills you are good at. Next, list the areas which you know need improvement. If you need to write more complex sentences, learn about sentence structure and practice writing sentences with more than one clause. If your characters are not believable, read excerpts from your favorite author. List those things the author does to make the story good. Ask yourself how many of those things you can do and how many you need to learn.

My first published article had to be written in Chicago style. Do you know the difference between Chicago and AP? I didn't. If I'm going to continue to write articles, I need to practice writing in both of those styles until it becomes second nature. 

The key is to schedule time regularly for practice. It will be work. You will be stretched. You might even get bored. Yet, the results are in and it is enough to motivate and inspire - whether you are just starting out or you are a seasoned writer. 

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After raising and homeschooling her 8 children and teaching art classes for 10 years, Kathy has found time to pursue freelance writing. She enjoys writing magazine articles and more recently had her story, "One of a Kind", published in The Kids' Ark. You can find her passion to bring encouragement and hope to people of all ages at 

When It Hurts - http://kathleenmoulton.com