Interview with Author Laurie Alice Eakes Part 2

Welcome back to part 2 on helpful writing tips with Lauire Alice Eakes. Visit Laurie at : www.lauriealiceeakes.com And now here is part two:

6: What is the most common mistake the beginning writer makes?
That’s a whole post all on its own. To make is concise, rushing things. People fall in love with the craft and with their work and send it out the door before it’s ready to go. The manuscript gets rejected, not because the author isn’t any good or the story isn’t great, but because it’s underdone.

7: What are two things you wished you had known before you started writing?
I wish I’d known about professional organizations like ACFW or RWA. Getting involved with other writers and learning from them, not to mention learning about the pitfalls of the business-yes, many charlatans exist out there-would have saved me a lot of trouble.
And I wish I’d known more about the business and how it worked-the submission process, guidelines, and all that. Learning to write is really important, but you can have the best book in the world and get nowhere with it because of taking bad advice or sending it to the wrong places and a gazillion other pitfalls of not knowing how the system works.

8: Why did you choose this profession?
I think the profession chose me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, no matter what I studied in college, no matter what jobs I held, I knew writing was what I really wanted to do.

9: What advice/ encouragement do you have for the writers reading this today?
Write and finish. Have a teachable heart. When someone tells you a part of your story isn’t working, pay attention. It doesn’t mean they’re right, but they could be. In contrast to that, don’t take so much advice to heart that you change everything. You have to follow your gut instincts, too.
And I do want to encourage. If this is what God wants you to do, then you will succeed.

10: Any other helpful advice?
Although you need to finish a manuscript and polish it before sending it out, don’t polish it so much the life is gone and you never send it out. Rejection is scary to face, yes, but you can’t get acceptance without risking rejection.

Thank you for giving such helpful advice, Laurie. Writing is a challenging journey and I know from personal experience that any advice is helpful!