You came here for advice, huh?

Here’s the thing about advice…

No one way works.

No one way fits everyone.

 

You know those ‘one size fits all’ tags you see sometimes around this time of year, usually sewn into a costume that makes your skin itch?

Yeah, they don’t fit great, do they?

There’s a reason they make your skin itch. They’re not actually meant for everyone.

Take advice on writing. I see threads, blogs, books on pantsing and plotting and plantsing and I still don’t think I fit neatly into one little niche.

Doing a quick google search for ‘how to write a book’ (what? you don’t google that before drafting???) pulls up a STAGGERING three point nine BILLION hits. 3.9 BILLION.

How do you sort through all that noise? How do we, as people who write, figure out HOW to do it?

There’s no right way to, well, write.

 

There’s no magical process that’s going to be your veritable silver bullet.

How you DO it, how you MAKE it happen, how you finish and polish up your manuscript— it’s ultimately on you.

Pitch Wars is a fantastic resource. I feel beyond lucky to count many of my friends and critique partners among the mentors and alums. And they are incredible. They have amazing insight, will hold your hand and help you tear your manuscript down to the studs and rebuild it even more beautifully. And teach you about how YOU write along the way.

But, like any art, and really, any profession— there are no guarantees.

Pitch Wars is a fantastic path.

But it’s not the only path.

Advice Number One:

 

My advice, like last year’s advice, is to use the most amazing resources that came out of my Pitch Wars experience- the people. Buddy up with other hopefuls. Swap manuscripts. Find writers who get what you’re trying to do.

Because if you, like me, don’t get in, these are the people that will be ready to read your next manuscript, and the next, and the next… And you’ll level up together.

Advice Number Two:

 

As the submission window for Pitch Wars approaches, there will be many threads written chock-full of advice that’s clear, concise, and insightful.

Bookmark them. Read them. Maybe try a few strategies out. But don’t be afraid to throw out what doesn’t work for YOU.

Advice Number Three:

 

Just keep going.

I could leave you with some kind of pithy advice about voice or querying or writing tips…

But honestly?

The more I learn I about writing, the less I realize I know. And I think that mindset has helped me roll with the publishing punches and learn from my mistakes more than anything else I can tell you here.

Now go get ’em, tigers.