Great Advice on Book Writing

“What do you wish you’d known about the process of writing a book that you didn’t know before you did it?”

Fun article for my writer friends that looks at advice from 23 published authors on the process of writing a book. And to see just how much the world has changed, a little clip on book making.  Some cool advice:

Be ready to organize vast amounts of data. Use a wall, or software like Scrivener.  – Carl Zimmer

Make it great, no matter how long it takes. There’s no such thing as too many drafts. There’s no such thing as too much time spent. As you well know, a great book can last forever. A great book can change a person’s life. A mediocre book is just commerce…..Let some of you come through. You’re obviously not writing a memoir here, but this book is still partly about you — the world you see, the way you think, the experiences you have with people. And trust me, readers are interested in who you are. So don’t be afraid to let bits and pieces of your personality and even life details seep into the text. It will breathe a lot of life into the book. –David Shenk

Write when the book sucks and it isn’t going anywhere. Just keep writing. It doesn’t suck. Your conscious is having a panic attack because it doesn’t believe your subconscious knows what it’s doing. – Cory Doctorow

And run all quirky one-liners that you hope to include in your author’s bio (do you “always enjoy a good latté”?) past a close friend; they don’t age well. –Geoff Manaugh

Don’t forget to write the book that you want to read. – Mark Frauenfelder

When my self-disgust reaches critical mass I seem to be ready to go. –August Kleinzahler

Develop a very serious plan for dealing with internet distractions. I use an app called Self-Control on my Mac. –Ben Casnocha

How inept publishers are at selling books, even books that, as in my case, they have a significant financial stake in and that they profess to love. Once they get rejected by Today and Terry Gross and once the SundayTimes passes (or, as in my case, assigns a  review and then never runs it), they’ve exhausted their playbook. Solution: what you’re already doing, which is to build your brand among your intended audience. – Anon

The most striking thing about my book processes was that no one at the publisher did any editing at all.  No fact checking, no line editing. – David Gans

Apply to MacDowell, Yaddo, Blue Mountain Center, Headlands — a few other good residencies, including one in Cali I can’t remember now. Four to eight weeks of you, quiet, among other artists, with people feeding you on schedule can do wonders. –Josh Shenk

Hat tip Kottke.