70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes

by Bob Mayer from The Writer's Digest Writing Kit

69. Not Having a Professional Website

Why this is a mistake: A Web presence is a must for a writer. Yet too many writers have none, or they consider it a secondary priority and put forth a presence that shows minimal interest or effort.

The solution: Your Web site is probably going to be the way most people get an impression of you, so it behooves you to put time, effort, and money into making sure it represents you well. While there are do-it-yourself kits available, there is an art to Web site design just like there is an art to writing, and if computers really aren’t your thing, it might be worth it to consult with those who know the art.

Consider the goal of your Web site. What are you trying to achieve with it? Are you primarily promoting yourself, or your writing? The two are not necessarily the same thing. For a while I was doing too much with my Web site, trying to promote my books, my speaking career, my teaching, etc. When your message is too broad, it doesn’t get across. So the first thing is to decide what your goal is. As with most other things, less is more. There is often a desire to go with all the bells and whistles that can be loaded on a Web site these days, but think about how you feel when you hit a site that takes forever to load. You want an opening page that is just that: a single page that requires little to no scrolling.

A good spin-off marketing tool from your Web site is an e-mail list you can use for a newsletter. This is another very cost-effective marketing tool.

70 Solutions to Common Writing Mistakes

by Bob Mayer from The Writer's Digest Writing Kit

70. Quitting

Why this is a mistake: If you quit, then you’re rejecting yourself. I’ve seen many people with a lot of talent simply pack up and go home. They quit. I’ve seen others with perhaps less talent keep plugging away and eventually make it.

There’s the classic story of the young violinist who managed to wrangle an audition with the master he had always admired. He went in and played his heart out. When the young man was done, the master simply shrugged and said “Not enough fire,” and turned his back. The young man was crushed and quit his career as a musician. He went on to do other things with his life. Many years later he met that master at some other function and relayed this story. The master was quite surprised and shrugged once more and said: “I tell everyone that. If my simple words stopped you, you really didn’t have enough fire.”

The solution: The only person who can stop you from being a writer is you.

So don’t quit. You never know what’s going to happen. Have a backup plan. For instance, I failed as a solo writer several times, but had a backup writing career going under various pen names, so I was able to stay alive in the business. I think a big mistake many novice writers make is thinking they have it made. You never have it made. Jenny and I are probably working harder than we ever have right now.

You’re never okay. You’ve got to keep pushing. Study the lives of those who have succeeded in the entertainment business, because writers are part of the entertainment business. Watch Inside the Actors Studio and shows like that. Get rid of the mindset of the overnight success. If Don’t Look Down breaks out, I’ll be an overnight success after thirty-three books and sixteen years. And even then I’ll still be at the beginning of really pushing it hard to make it even further. In a way, I’ll have just begun. But writing is a lot of fun also. Sometimes we get too gloom and doom. I’d rather be doing this than anything else.