An insightful writers conference attendee recently asked me to list the most common mistakes writers make. (She was insightful mostly because she was talking to me instead of some other author or agent at the conference, but also because it’s a good question.) I attempted an answer in the moment but have since come up with a few more.
These are not primarily writing mistakes, mind you. Those are easy to list. Such as “too many adverbs or adjectives” or pairing a singular antecedent with a plural pro-cedent. Or using words such as “pro-cedent.” These are primarily writing-and pitching-for-publication mistakes, which agents and editors see often.
- Hurry is a writer’s Enemy #1. Being in a hurry as you write, and in a hurry to publish, has scarred or scuttled many a promising writer, since it often leads to Mistake 2.
- Publishing too early, and poorly. Yes, I know it’s not fair that the world should have to wait another day, month, or year to benefit from your inspired words. But speaking as an agent, it’s much, much easier for me to successfully pitch a debut project than a second project after the first was published (and therefore sold) poorly.
- Claiming unique inspiration. Sure, we all know (or hope) that God is involved in the writing process but claiming that yours is directly or uniquely inspired by Him tends to prompt more questions than it answers. Such as why God didn’t do a better job.
- Not nailing the hook. I’ve said often (such as here): nail the hook, and you nail the book. A good hook promises something unique, original, and compelling, something agents, editors, and readers haven’t seen before. Or seen expressed quite that way.
- Pitching a “cross-genre” or “genre-bending” book. Genre is important to readers and to publishers. Genres in publishing exist for a reason, and writers ignore or mix them at their peril.
- Pitch an unmarketable word count. Similarly, specific genres tend to have standard lengths. A children’s board book runs about 100 words; a picture book maybe 300. A middle grade novel might be 30-40,000; a YA novel 60-80,000. For a Christian living book the sweet spot is, say, 70,000. And a fantasy novel might go beyond 100,000 words, but few other things do. Yet I see occasional pitches for books of 5,000 words or 200,000, which suggest the writer hasn’t done his or her homework.
- Confusing “Christian” and “spiritual.” Somewhere there must be a list of world-famous (not to mention humble) agents like me, because I regularly get email submissions touting, say, Eastern religious practices or novel new (and often heretical) takes on the Bible. I’m no stick-in-the-mud, but I don’t bathe in the stuff to reach a new level of enlightenment.
Do I sound like a grump? I suppose that’s not far off the mark, but hey, someone did ask. Which I hope is an indication that the above might be helpful for some to note. Please. Please, I beg you: note them.
I’d add another mistake, if I may, and that might be called ‘archaic influences’.
I was inspired to write by reading the works of Nevil Shute, Sir Gordon Taylor, Susan Howatch, Andrew Greeley, William E. Barrett, and Robert Ruark. All were fine writers in their day, but their day was past, and so, before my career began, was mine.
The two novels I wrote that are available on Kindle (thank you, Carol Ashby, for the heavy lifting in getting them formatted!) do sell; readers seem to like them, and I’m glad they exist. But their style foredoomed them to a kind of niche netherworld.
I did make five of the seven mistakes listed above, as well. I didn’t claim unique inspiration, and the word counts were correct, but I honestly didn’t even know what genre was, I was in a hurry, and did not realize that Christian books are rarely Catholic, and Catholic fiction, Greeley and Barrett notwithstanding, doesn’t sell.
My first novel was published to a traditional contract by a vanity press, whose principals became, as I understand, acquainted with the Justice Department and then guests thereof.
I got virtually no royalties, though books were sold, but I did have several book signings and a local radio interview, and at the company’s dissolution got the rights back.
Ah, well. At least I had fun.
***
Look upon mistakes I made
from ignorance and foolish pride;
yes, I pondered and I prayed,
but in the end I did decide
to follow what I thought was right,
for how could Noble I be wrong?
And thus career became a Might
Have Been, and that’s a mournful song.
Find your way, but do not break
your own path to oblivion.
Listen to your elders, take
the wisdom you’ve received from them;
craft ways to let your writing shine,
a life that could well have been mine.
Thanks for sharing, Andrew! I’m sure your books are lyrical and inspiring!
Kelsey, I hope they are that, lyrical and inspiring.
They were written from the heart, based on personal experience and a deep Catholicism found after a Buddhist life.
If you care to read them, I would be delighted, and if you think they’re awful, I will gladly find a way to reimburse you.
I’d love to, maybe once I have a Kindle. I’ll keep them in mind, thanks! 🙂
Thanks for this list, Bob! I can’t help but notice that the “P” word is conspicuously missing. Is that sometimes a scapegoat when there are actually other issues, or is the concept of platform subtly embedded in point #2?
You mean you WANTED to hear the word “platform” again? 🙂
Lol, I wake up in a cold sweat at night with something whispering “platform” in my ear! ;D I think the insecure child inside me just hears that word and assumes it’s code for “Your writing is actually awful.”
Thanks for the humor. It helps swallow important pills. ( I use peach yogurt.)
Mr. Hostetler,
Eastern religions (Orthodoxy) are 100 percent Christian and has been from the beginning of Christianity.
I’m sorry I wasn’t clearer. I meant non-Christian “eastern religious practices.”
Hey, Bob. May I suggest a variation on your theme: Mistakes Agents Make.
#1. “I never accept … [fill in the blank].”
Please consider the quality of the works Andrew Budek-Schmeisser cited above. Historical fiction has a long and well-deserved place. What about Christian historical fiction? To limit oneself to only non-fiction, Christian agent, is to miss the “The Robe,” “Moby Dick,” “The Scarlet Letter.”
Highly likely, the pitch-field is quite jam-packed with fluff and ill-conceived works … not worth your time … as discovered within the first 3 chapt. However, please consider reading ’em.
Maybe, just maybe you will find a worthwhile piece.
Maybe you (even serving the agency as a whole) could have a qualified group of readers in your employ as a filter.
I know it’s a daunting task. But the potential remains.
#2. You must already have a platform.
Isn’t that a bit of an assumption? A kind of short-term view of the market … and not the longer view: the truly worthy, newly discovered, profound work by an unknown? (See #1 above.)
Bob, sift through the chaff. Keep your standards high.
Ronald, we agents find MANY worthwhile pieces, of many different kinds. And some of us not only consider both nonfiction and fiction, in many genre. But agents don’t dictate a work’s sales potential. Neither (ultimately) do publishers. The market (i.e., reader) does, and publishers that have staff to pay and, thus, mouths to feed, must acquire books that will somehow get noticed and bought in a world in which millions of books are published every year.
Having said that, we do make mistakes, me most of all. And sometimes, I imagine, by failing to recognize truly worthy, newly discovered, profound works, as you put it. But when that happens, I’m pretty confident one of my agent friends and colleagues, all of whom are smarter than me, will snatch it up.
Does the Christian Living book at a 70,ooo word sweet spot also apply to Christian Romance novels and Christian suspense novels?
There is a lot of information on word count for this genre, and what I’m seeing is a generalization of under 100,000 words.
This article was helpful. 😊 Thank you.
Well, Christian Living applies only to nonfiction so it does not apply to fiction genre. Romance and suspense tend to circle the 80k mark, unless it’s a Harlequin book, which is 55k.
Thank you!
#6 … genre bending/mixing. This is done all the time at Realm Makers. hahaha!
Speculative fiction can be so freeing. 😉
Those speculative people make their own kinda music, sing their own special song….
Thanks, Bob, that made me laugh, cry, cover myself in ash and tear my clothes. I think that if the platform were on that list, it would fit nicely as the third, #6!
Duly noted! In stone…if only I had a chisel! Truly grateful to soak up sage advice! I have much to learn!
This is good advice all aspiring writers need.
I’d like to suggest one more that afflicts some people. You told me this one in a zoom call some time back. Paraphrasing in my words, most people experienced in content-centric writing fail to transition to reader-centric writing.
I recall asking you a question on a 540 writing group zoom call some time ago. Your answer seared into my memory. When I mentioned my writing background, you briefly grimaced before giving a grim prognosis. I had asked a similar question of another industry pro the previous week. He had a brief look of pity on his face. Sort of like discovering a pathetic puppy trapped and dying in some dire situation. He said something to the extent that academia permanently ruins most writers.
I could not ignore two such witnesses one week apart with similar honest spontaneous facial reactions to the impending demise of my writing efforts. Both of you gracefully tried not to devastate me with the news. Sort of like feeling an obligation to tell a 5′ 5″ high school basketball player to reconsider NBA plans. It was clear to me that this was a recurring pattern.
I applied my professional experience to analyze what I needed to change.
After over 30 years of academic, technical, and business writing, I was a content-centric writer. I’ve probably written well over a million words on various topics. I often received compliments on the clarity of my writing and insights.
But content-centric is not reader-centric. It makes the reader subservient to the content rather than making the content serve the reader.
As I embraced this idea, I realized how inappropriate much of my former writing was for a general audience. I now cringe as I read some of my old content-centric stuff. Solid technical insights I am proud of. But tedious and pedantic. Good reference material for the enthusiastic few wishing to become specialists. Not general material for changing lives of the masses.
Thanks–seriously–for the useful advice.
To see the first common mistake encouraged me. I am not a fast writer. I’ve tried and ignoring word choices that don’t seem right, or not taking time to research as I go may produce a bigger word count but not quality. I find doing my best the first time makes editing the second time easier.
Thank you so much. We will take note of the mistakes.
Blessings.
In regard to word count for a Narrative Non-fiction/Inspirational True Story, what is the present recommendation. There are some that recommend 70,000-80,000 words while others are saying 50,000-60,000 words.
Niemah, it depends on the genre and the publisher. In Christian publishing, “Narrative Non-fiction/Inspirational True Story” isn’t a genre. If memoir, 70-80k is standard. If Christian living or women’s nonfiction, 55k-70k. But to all these numbers you may add “ish.”