Is My Writing Good Enough?| Content Matters More Than Form| Derek Murphy
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- This has been a depressing month for some of my friends. I've seen a lot of posts about authors giving up, because they 'just can't do this anymore' - or they're frustrated because last year they made over 50K and there income has dried up to 1/10th that.
Making a living as a writer is challenging, and I recommend having multiple income streams if you're depending on book sales - when books tank, authors start to wonder if maybe they just aren't cut out for this.
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a complete beginner, you might be asking "Is my writing good enough?" The short answer is, it doesn't matter - because writing quality is not what makes books succeed or fail.
Content has to come first. If you tell a good enough story, or share valuable information, readers will forgive a lot as long as the writing doesn't get in the way of the message.
Bad writing AND overly "good" writing can both distract from content. Purple prose and the self-affecting ramblings of English majors who love to agonize over specific phrases for days can be just as annoying as typos and grammar mistakes.
The writing should be enough to tell the story well, to the best of your ability, but the story (or information) matters most. Your job is to communicate said information in a professional way that makes it engaging and resonant with the target audience.
So don't wonder if your writing is good enough; find a better story to tell.
Hey there - I'm Derek Murphy and Welcome to my youtube channel "Derek Murphy", I'm a fine artist who became a book cover designer, then started writing young adult sci-fi and fantasy. I've spent almost 20 years living abroad, have a PhD in comparative literature (revolutionary politics in Paradise Lost), and have been featured in CNN for renting castles to use as writing retreats. Although I'm not working with clients anymore, I've built a ton of resources to help indie authors write, design and publish bestselling books.
On this channel, I talk about writing, publishing and creating personal freedom with unconventional business strategies and providing value. My videos are unpolished and a little raw, because we travel full-time and I focus on content, not production quality.
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For me this video is perfect timing.. ♡
writing does need to be 'good enough', not terrible and not perfect. Good writing makes a story flow. Some books are just like that, it jsut depends on whether you read for the writing or for the content (talking as a reader here) and what it is you want to do with your writing. Some DO read books for the writing alone though, but most do need a good story
Many thanks buddy. A big help. I'm in that place. Good advice. I have great stories. I'm learning as I go. How to present... I'm trying to keep it real without the polish....
Thanks Derek, I have started this year on a bit of a downer, your films always pick this up.
this was really cute :D really enjoy your video :D keep going !!
Also, Derek, what is your next book after Sheerwater? I looked on amazon, but quite confused which one is the next book to read in the series or is there even a series? Many thanks
hopefully late this year I'll finish book 2
Needed this!
Solid advice. :)
How can i research for my books subtopics?
Hi Derek, thanks for this. The best piece of prose I have ever read was handwritten on a (large) paper napkin. Alas, the author won't publish for love nor money. Will end up making the main protagonist of someone's novel if he's not careful.
Off topic, if you would: I have two YA novels ready to go. The first will go out as soon as I get back the proof-copy from CS. The second I'm not sure what to do with.
Publish as soon as, or tease my as yet non-existing audience with a politely tantalising stretch between the books?
Most people say publish them three weeks apart, with a preorder for book 2 inside the first book. If you don't have an audience, teasing won't help, so you might as well get them out there.
Thanks Derek.
Love (and hate) how it all boils down to "WRITE!".
Ooooh.... I feel a Beckett moment coming up... as they do... "Ah, the old questions, the old answers, there's nothing like them!"
Thanks for the video, it was helpful. Do you know where I can find test readers to criticize my book? I wrote a non-fiction retracing ten years of humanitarian work in East Africa and would like some feedback before publishing. Friends and relatives do not help, they are too bias. Thanks
I would like to know too about where to find beta readers. Do you need to have an audience in place?
AMEN!
English is my second language and because of that I suffer with being too judgmental...Derek, how do u write even when tired? I tend to sit down some days to write and than opa I start getting sleepy.
Hey JacksonRead, did you just say "opa"?:)
Lol yes
Writing is tiring on the brain, creatively exhausting - it's much easier if you know exactly what happens in the scene you're going to write, but sometimes you have to stumble forward and write something, just to 'unlock' what happens next (sometimes you can't see everything from the beginning, you have to get halfway before you see how all the scenes fit together, then go back). I also try to write first thing in the morning, pushing off other tasks in the evening that don't take as much brain power... and I drink a lot of espresso.
You know Jackson, there are these stand-up desks you could try...:)