Self-discipline: Why You Need It as an Author

This morning I taught an English writing class, after which a student came up to me with a question. I’d marked "Rewrite" on her paper, because she didn’t develop her topic and answer her research question. She asked me whether she could just rewrite her topic/question to something more general. (The question was a ‘Why’ question - Why did blah blah blah. She wanted to make it an ‘about question’ - About blah blah blah). Technically, I told her, yes if she rewrote the question, that would get rid of the problem I had with the essay, which was that it didn’t satisfy itself. However, the original question was very strong. And I showed her what kind of additional information she could find and add in to answer that question. But she repeated herself: "So, but if I rewrite the question, that would be OK?"

I told her she would only need to add a few paragraphs to make it a really good paper, and that doing so would make her a better writer, after which she asked again "But if I just rewrote the title, I would pass? That would be fine for you?"

I said yes. Who am I to force her to want to improve herself? But as a warning for you aspiring authors: nobody else is going to make you want to become a great writer. You’re probably focused on finishing your book, finding an agent, getting it published and making lots of money, rather than improving your writing skills. This is a huge mistake.

Let’s say you wrote your book, got it edited professionally, submitted queries and even got a few bites; but finally at the end nobody wanted it. What do you do? Self-publish and spend $1000, and then spend another $1000 on promotion, and then push your book for several years, selling maybe enough copies to earn back some of the money you spent on it. But the ball never gets rolling; readers don’t recommend it to their friends, it doesn’t get on Oprah, you don’t retire from the proceeds.

Now what? Well, if you’re wise and mature enough, you’ll realize that your writing probably wasn’t good enough, and you can learn how to write well by studying - yes it is a skill that can be learned, and most authors are making the same basic mistakes, which you would have found out if you bothered to edit your own writing before wasting so much time and money promoting it.

If you’re an idiot, you’ll complain that ‘the world didn’t appreciate’ your amazing talent, and live out your life in a job you hate dreaming about what could have been.

Don’t treat every opportunity to become a better writer as a nuisance. If you’re serious about making writing a career, learn how to do it!

I've heard authors say "But I have my own style" or "but the story is more important than the writing" - rubbish. The vast majority of books published, and especially those that become bestsellers, are well-written. Style has nothing to do with it: these books may have different styles, but they all use English grammar and vocabulary well, have a well structured plot or organization, catch readers' attention flow smoothly towards a natural conclusion; and these things are all-too-often missing from the average aspiring writer.

Focus on improving your writing! Not just cranking out a get-rich-quick book idea that is not ready for the public!

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