There’s a term that I keep tripping over—’best practices.’ I’ve seen it in literature my husband brings home from work, and my son has been studying it for a business class he’s taking. It’s also mentioned on television from time to time.
According to Wikipedia:
A best practice is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward which conventional wisdom regards as more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance. (Wiki)
I thought I’d put together a sort of best practices list for writers of the advice I’ve heard and read most frequently from other writers.
Writing:
Set a writing goal, either daily or weekly.
Don’t be too critical of yourself during the first draft.
Try to be flexible about the times and places that you write.
Keep dialogue tags simple.
Showing rather than telling is usually more effective.
Make sure your book has enough conflict.
Read. It helps if you’ve either been an avid reader or are one currently.
Find what works for you (outlining or no-outlining, edit as you go or later, research now or later) and do it.
Connect with other writers who understand and appreciate what you’re going through. Others close to you may or may not.
Editing and Revising:
Try putting away your manuscript for a while.
Be aware of industry standards for word count for the genre you’ve written–and try to conform to the standards, if you plan to submit for publication.
Find an honest critiquer to offer constructive criticism. But still respect your gut.
Read the book aloud.
Printing the book and revising on paper may help.
Querying
Research agents, focusing on those that represent what you write. Check the agents against Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors.
Research dos and don’ts of query writing (lots of advice on these agents’ blogs): Rachelle Gardner’s Rants and Ramblings, Bookends, Query Shark, Pub Rants, Babbles from Scott Eagan.
Expect rejection and persevere. Learn what you can from any feedback you receive.
After Signing Your Contract and Following the Book’s Release:
Respect your editor. Think twice before arguing over a change.
Market, in some form, with as much enthusiasm as you can. Make sure your publisher is aware of your efforts.
Manage your time, especially online time.
Be careful of what you say online..on your blog, when commenting on others’ blogs, when Tweeting, while on Facebook.
Keep writing. Write while you’re submitting, write while you’re waiting for your book to release. Not only does it keep you busy, but it’s great practice.
Obviously, the most important thing is to find out what works best for you, then do it. :) What works for you…what would you recommend for a ‘best practices’ list for writers?
This was really informative! Thanks for sharing! :o)
Awesome list! A writer needs all the right tools to stay alove on this journey. What I love is connecting with other writers, no one understands us better!
Elizabeth – I like those best practices a lot. As a matter of fact, “Best Practices” is a common term among educators; it refers to classroom practices that are most beneficial to students, so I was really interested to see it applied to writing.
Your list is so terrific I don’t know much else I would add, really. The one thing that did occur to me is, be open to all sorts of networking opportunities. Anyone you meet, or who reads your blog, tweets, etc., could become a fan of your writing. So don’t be shy about it.
If you’re serious about writing, you have to consider it your JOB. I’d also suggest hooking up with crit partners. Reading someone else’s work helps hone your craft. Likewise, seeing what others see as they read your work helps you think about things from a different perspective (and you don’t have to agree–just thing about it!)
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
This is such a cool summary of writerly needs to know stuff.
Karen
Same wave today, lady. I mentioned best practices on my blog as one of the four best business moves you’ll never regret.
Great resources here.
~ Wendy
Perhaps ‘Don’t let writing consume your life. Breaks lead to better writing.” I think sometimes we get so focussed on deadlines or the next step in our writing journeys that we forget that we need to step out into the world every now and again. If nothing else, the fresh air is good for us!
How on earth do you do it. Week after week on your blog and on Twitter you give more important information for writers on all levels than any other … and that includes blogs that are exclusively for helping us with our craft.
You are truly amazing, Elizabeth. Although I’ve never left a comment, I’ve read your blog and your Tweets for a long time.
Just had to give you a thumbs up for all your hard work. Thanks :)
Yes, I know that stuff from work. We have best practice for anything you can think of, hundreds of documents.
Best practice is the best and safest way to do a task using proven methods. But to develop things further, you have to think outside best practice. Research is to get tomorrows best practice >:)
Cold As Heaven
I think you covered everything – and I agree, the most important thing is for each writer to figure out what works best for him or her. I’m still working on that!
Girl in My Own World–Thanks so much for coming by!
Tamika–Sometimes I think that no one else understands us, at all! :)
Margot–Great point–and networking can surprise you sometimes. Could be a research source, someone who is connected to the media…lots of opportunities and connections to be made.
Wendy–So funny! And, you know, I think I first heard ‘best practices’ when my husband worked for Microsoft. Since you’re an ex-Microsoftie, too, no wonder we ended up with that phrase in our minds. :)
Florence–Thanks so much for the encouragement and for your comment! I really do appreciate it. :) I feel like the online community has given me so much that I’d like to try to give back what I’m able to. I don’t interact with writers in-person very frequently, and it’s been amazing to have this online group of writers to connect with.
Cold As Heaven–That’s very interesting! I can only imagine trying to figure out *future* best practices or *future* fires to put out. For writers, I guess, that would involve the probable expansion of the ebook revolution. My best practice for that right now is to go with the flow. I’m happy to embrace ebooks if they’re the wave of the future–I’d be shooting myself in the foot not to.
Terry–Great point…thinking of it as a job really helps…otherwise, it’s too easy to put writing on the back burner.
Karen–Thanks so much!
Jane–I think we all are!
Thank you!
An excellent check list for staying on track in a lot of areas. Thank you.
Great list! Best practices are SUPER common in academia and the health field… the idea is that to improve, you need to compare the new thing to what is commonly accepted to CURRENTLY work best (best practices). Excellent to apply it to writing, and I think you’ve nailed all this, particularly the ‘figure out what works for you”–everyone is different.
These are best practices. Love it. I use the phrase best practice all the time. I heard someone say it and I was hooked.
Great post sweetie. Such wise and practical information.
I tend to edit something to death. ‘Just don’t know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.
God bless ya and have a marvelous week sweetie!!!
Deb–Thanks for coming by. :)
Linda–Thanks so much!
Hart–I’ve tried other people’s methods before (particularly outlining), but it definitely didn’t feel as natural for me. We’ve got to just figure out what works for us!
Nezzy–I think it’s probably better to do too much editing instead of too little. But then, hard as it is…we need to let our baby birds leave the nest (if we want them published, anyway.) It’s hard to let go, though! Hope you have a great week and thanks for commenting. :)
I think you covered the list very well, Elizabeth!
Elspeth–That’s a very good point and one that I need to heed! Ha!
Diane–Thanks!
Excelllent advice! I’d add Agent Query to the list of query resources too :)
Looks like a great checklist to me.
Another great post. If I had one to add, it’s one I just learned recently. Remember to love writing. Sometimes I get so caught up in the frustration and anxiety that I forget that nobody is holding a gun to my head. I write because I love telling stories. The publishing, the marketing, those are all details after the fact. I must remember that I love writing.
Teresa–You’re in IT, so I’m not surprised you know it. :) My husband is in IT, too.
Alex–Thanks!
Sheila–So easy to forget that, isn’t it? When the deadlines come up and I’m hitting my head against a wall, I try to remember that I CHOSE to write and that I *do* love it. Easy to forget. :)
Jemi–Absolutely! I used AgentQuery to help me find my current agent. Nice resource.