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.
