Check here weekly for the Saige Advice portion of Saige Advice & Other Spices. This is where the advice given to aspiring authors by published authors will be.
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Advice from Tina Ordone, author of Her Timeless Obsession!
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"The advice I'd give is first study, study, study. Read about the craft of writing, the mechanics. Read other authors in the genre you wish to write. Don't copy them, but see various styles. Your own voice will develop with the more you learn, and learn you must. It is an ongoing process, one that never ends. Finally, sit your butt in the chair and write, write, write and don't stop. With each story, you will learn more and more, until one day, your submission will be accepted by a publisher.Then you will be a published, and the real lessons begin. To be successful, you must continue to perfect your writing, as well as your skill in promotion, connecting with your readers (which can be great fun) and continuing to write your next great book. The rewards are rich in satisfaction. To be successful in a more tangible way, one must spend years writing and submitting. Don't be discouraged when the rejection notices arrive, you're one rejection notice closer to success. Keep on keepin' on."
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Advice from Keta Diablo, author of Where the Rain is Made!
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"Since writers are the biggest procrastinators in the world, my advice would be to put other distractions aside (the Internet will still be there) and write. That means every day. Just plop your butt in the chair and write something, even if it sounds horrible the first time around. It isn't until the second and third round that you have something readable anyway.
And write the best book you possibly can. I know that sounds silly, but don't say, "Oh, this will have to do," and send it off. Go over it again and again until you know it's truly a good story and all the glaring plot holes have vanished. I think writing is hard, and anyone who says it isn't, hasn't written an 85,000 word novel. There are days things roll well, and there are days I do nothing but hit the delete button. So don't give up, just keep writing and eventually things will flow for that story."
And write the best book you possibly can. I know that sounds silly, but don't say, "Oh, this will have to do," and send it off. Go over it again and again until you know it's truly a good story and all the glaring plot holes have vanished. I think writing is hard, and anyone who says it isn't, hasn't written an 85,000 word novel. There are days things roll well, and there are days I do nothing but hit the delete button. So don't give up, just keep writing and eventually things will flow for that story."
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Advice from Theda Black, author of Beneath the Neon Moon!
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For your stories, it’s the same as acting: less is more. Over dramatic prose will cheapen the story you’re relating. Keep your words fast and lean and moving."
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Advice from Chloe Stowe, author of Barbarian!
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"Two pieces of advice I’d give: First, find a niche. Find a genre and a sub-genre that is growing and not yet filled to the brim with new authors. Just remember, it’s got be something that you love writing about. Don’t head for the vampires if you’ve seen a horror movie just because it’s popular.
Second, write short stories. Forever Bound came about when I submitted a short story entitled “Chalk Wings” to Ravenous Romance. They liked it so much that they asked me if I could lengthen it into a novel (I still can’t believe that actually happened… lol). So, if it worked for me, it’s got to work for at least one more crazy person out there too."
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"Write the very best manuscript you can. Don't rush writing or editing your book because you've got to make an excellent first impression on a busy submissions editor.
I'm giving away a copy of my brand new erotic paranormal, Dangerous Love. It just came out yesterday!"
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Advice from Kimber An, author of Sugar Rush
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Write! Also, being a blogging book reviewer has taught me an enormous amount of stuff I’ve found extremely helpful. First of all, an aspiring author needs to read constantly in his or her genre/subgenre in order to learn the form and what’s hot. Book reviewers get sent most of their books for free! Reviewing has brought me into contact with agents, editors, publicity people, and authors. A lot of those authors have been extremely generous with their advice. For example, I stumbled onto Susan Grant’s blog early on, because of my love of her book The Star King. She gave me great advice, but she also led me to Linnea Sinclair whose novel, The Down Home Zombie Blues, is one of my favorites too. Linnea provided tons of wonderful tips, but she also led me to Jacqueline Lichtenberg who helped save the original Star Trek and who has a huge backlist of published novels, including ones with scientific vampires in them. And Jacqueline provided me with the most enormous advice of all! On top of that, when it was time to upgrade my web presence in preparation for my first novel releasing, I easily snagged lots of guest bloggers from among the authors I’ve reviewed for over the years. So, my advice is to go with your strengths. If you enjoy blogging, go for it! If don’t enjoy it though, it won’t work for you. Try something else. I have a Writers’ Resources page on my main site where I list everything that’s helped me the most.
Never give up! Follow your own gut instinct to a certain extent, however be prepared to listen to criticism. If you get a bad review or comment from a beta reader. Don’t give up, walk away for a while, then come back to it and see what you can glean from their comments. Perhaps before doing anything, send your story to someone else. It may just be one person’s opinion.
You also need to have cheer leaders out there. Writing can be a very lonely craft and it helps to have people encouraging you. Having a writing mother should be a plus for you.
There’s great craft stuff out there to learn the techniques, but in the end the story has to come from your heart.
Write because you enjoy it, not because you are looking to get rich and famous, you’ll stress yourself out if you’re only concerned about having your name out there and money in your pocket. You have to love the craft of writing, have stories to tell, and be willing to take criticism.
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Advice from AB Gayle, author of Caught
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Never give up! Follow your own gut instinct to a certain extent, however be prepared to listen to criticism. If you get a bad review or comment from a beta reader. Don’t give up, walk away for a while, then come back to it and see what you can glean from their comments. Perhaps before doing anything, send your story to someone else. It may just be one person’s opinion.
You also need to have cheer leaders out there. Writing can be a very lonely craft and it helps to have people encouraging you. Having a writing mother should be a plus for you.
There’s great craft stuff out there to learn the techniques, but in the end the story has to come from your heart.
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Advice from Kelly Yeakle, author of The Legacy Keeper's Treasure
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Write because you enjoy it, not because you are looking to get rich and famous, you’ll stress yourself out if you’re only concerned about having your name out there and money in your pocket. You have to love the craft of writing, have stories to tell, and be willing to take criticism.
