Point 1: I am not one for self-help books. It's the one shelf I tend to walk on by quickly in a bookstore; I'd rather read about sports, and, folks, that is something I hate doing.
Point 2: Many writers amateur and professional suggest, nicely and sometimes not-so-nicely, to read certain books on style and grammar, etc.
As far as the craft of writing goes, yes, there are books that teach the basics, but they should NEVER be the bible you follow when you write. I believe rules are made to be broken if you want your voice to be unique.
Self-help for writing- take it with a pinch of salt. If you know your grammar and have a good vocabulary, you are already halfway there. The rest is your voice.
And now to my real point: The Power of Positive Thinking.
To succeed in this competitve environment of publishers, agents and readers, you need the tools of the mind. And this is the one area I move away from my stand about self-help books. You have to believe in yourself and your work, you have to visualise your work in published form for it to be published. This is not rocket science and many would mutter they already know that. I would agree and did...and then took it a step further.
Read these three books and tell me if I am wrong:
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
Think And Grow Rich - Napolean Hill
Feel the Fear and do something about it - Susan Jeffers
I am still reading and taking it all on board, but already I feel far more positive for the future. One of these days Gathering of Rain will be in print!
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