Dabbling in the creative arts is a humbling experience. It doesn't matter if you're an author or a musician or a painter or actor, most people's goal is to "make it". And most people never do. They see others who have and think, well, I'm just as good as them; better even! A lot of times, that's true.
And we decide, there's something I should be doing that I'm not. That's what's holding me back. Naturally, we turn to others for advice; "others" being strangers on the internet.
I wrote in a previous post about hiring an editor, and why you can't possibly become a successful author unless and until you fork over thousands of dollars for one. I bet there are authors right now who are socking away a little money every week in order to build up their "editor fund", simply because someone online once suggested to someone that they might want to hire an editor, and that advice took off and eventually became a requirement. YOU DON'T NEED AN EDITOR! And by the by, even if you have one, that isn't a magic bullet that will skyrocket you to fame.
Tonight I was browsing r/self-publish on Reddit and the talk turned to beta readers. How many do you have? Do they all follow through? Again, finding beta readers somehow became a prerequisite to writing a successful book.
Why?
Are you so unsure of your ability that you need someone to point out your flaws? And what exactly makes your non-writing best friend an expert? I get it ~ readers are experts, in that you want readers to...well, actually read your book, but if you've ever garnered reviews for one of your works, you inevitably find that opinions are all over the place. One person falls in love with your writing, while another claims it's the worst thing they've ever had the misfortune to read. Um, which beta reader type did you recruit? Because both types would be wrong.
Plus, an author is asking a lot of a friend, and even a willing stranger, to mark up your manuscript and scribble notes in the margins. Why a stranger would even volunteer confounds me, unless it's some kind of swap (which means that two insecure writers have found each other). Either that or the volunteer is a sadist who loves tearing things apart to show his superiority.
If I spent all my time dealing with editors and beta readers, I'd never get any writing done. And that's another point about writers ~ they are master procrastinators. I set up an X account under my pen name, ostensibly to promote my books, and immediately I had a bunch of fellow authors following me. Reading their non-stop posts, it's clear they are spending far too much time on X, when they should be writing. I get it; it's psychological. Sometimes when I know I should be writing, I'm just stuck. I don't know where the story should go, so I pull up social media and dawdle, or check my email accounts; anything to avoid facing my issue head-on. Or maybe I'm supposed to be writing, but I don't feel like it.
We busy ourselves with ancillary tasks as a way of dodging. I need to recruit beta readers. I need to research editors. Ooh, look! What's this shiny object over here?
Truly, there's nothing an author is "supposed to do" except write a good book. (Well, they need to somehow get the word out, but that's after the book is written.)
If you are looking for one requirement while your manuscript is in progress, I would advise this: Be honest with yourself. If a passage or a scene somehow doesn't feel right, don't just bypass it and assume the reader will overlook it. Either fix it or delete it. I get that you probably still have about 50,000 more words to write and you've gotta press ahead, but they need to be the right words. I'm not solely referring to the actual writing process, but also to editing (which is a part of writing). Sure, go ahead and move on, but at least highlight that passage and return to it later. Because, no, readers won't forgive.
I've made that mistake. One recent reviewer noted that my ending seemed rushed. It did. I well remember as I was writing that book that I was getting tired of it, and I knew at the time that I might be rushing the ending. I didn't follow my own advice. Would having a beta reader have helped me avoid that? Helped me with something I was already aware of? I certainly could have helped myself by listening to my inner voice.
It's easy for me to say; not so easy to do, but writers need to trust themselves. They also need to write and write and write, and thus get better at trusting themselves.
And don't take every piece of advice as gospel.
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