Author Daryl Sedore

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t

~Erica Jang

Here’s the thing; there’s so much advice out there that you could literally build a balloon and sail around the world on the hot air.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying all advice can be placed in a ‘bad’ category. I’m only addressing ‘advice’ itself.

People ask for it. Some is unsolicited. Other advice is ordered upon us and yet a little is even welcomed. Then there’s the good advice that isn’t followed.

My focus is on the two areas of unsolicited and un-followed advice.

Unsolicited Advice: In a song from a group, who were more popular years ago, called INXS, said, “Everybody’s got advice”. That line may not win any literary awards but it’s absolutely true. And do you know who has the most advice? Men. That’s right. Men.

They’re fixers. Problem solvers who feel a need to pass on the answer. Even when it’s wrong. I’m not aiming to be gender specific here. I’m sure there are a number of women who think they know stuff and offer unsolicited advice too. I’ve just found that it’s mostly men.

Remember; when giving too much unsolicited advice you come across as a know-it-all. If that’s what you want to look like, then check your ego.

Here’s the kicker; I’m male and this post is on advice, which is unsolicited…get it?

Many receive advice. Only the wise profit from it

~Syrus

Un-followed Advice: Here’s something I don’t understand. There are numerous blogs and website’s advising people on submissions. How to submit is available in plain English. Also, there’s a massive amount of non-fiction books out there on writing which will teach the average scribbler what to expect in the publishing industry from how to write to how to submit. And yet time and again, this advice isn’t heeded.

People submit on pink paper (found that on Twitter today). People submit to the wrong agent. Queries aren’t pasted into the body of the email; just the first chapter and a little about the book (found this on Twitter today too).

Come on people. Follow the advice put out for you. Submit accurately. Yeah, sure there’s a lot of hot air out there, but then there’s a lot of real advice that has to be followed.

The kind that makes the difference.

The kind that gets your query read.

Or not.

I was reading a writer’s magazine this morning with my coffee and this line shot out at me; ”Telling a story is not about giving away information, but about withholding it.”

I found that to be so true. In the revision stages of my current novel, my editor in New York was always drilling into me how I gave too much away. (Although that was early in my career…lol) She showed me numerous ways I could take a certain amount of information and slice off the excess to have not only a honed piece of work, but also information I thought was needed was removed.

“Doesn’t the reader need to know that?” I would ask.

“Sure,” she would say. “But you can tell them that part later. It’ll make them read on to find out.”

Another thing I saw in this magazine was an article from Noah Lukeman. Great piece about complex characters. At the end there was a blurb about Noah and that he’s a literary agent in New York and how many books he’s written on writing. The reason I mention this is because of the free offer that was posted there.

He’s written an e-book titled “How to Write a Great Query”. He has made it available for writers at no cost at www.writeagreatquery.com

I checked it out. It’s free for a one time only download. I have yet to read all of it, but so far it looks awesome.

Keep writing…

All the best,

Daryl