Another Key to Successful Novel Writing

Brenda sent me this question all about successful novel writing...

"I've been writing novels for almost 2 years now but with no success. Everything I sent to agents is just returned with no explanation or nothing. I'm just wondering if I'm actually cut out for writing fiction. What do you think?"
- Brenda, Colchester, England

Without reading your fiction, Brenda, it's difficult for me to say. All I know is that I have yet to meet any beginning novel writer who is without talent.

But here is the thing: you need to work hard at it and stick with it. And two years, frankly, is not that long, particularly if you came to novel writing not knowing much about it in the first place.

The first thing that I recommend you do is read the article on the Myths & Secrets of Writing a Novel. Pay particular attention to the first "secret" - the fact that successful novel writing takes time.

Now, I don't want to talk in detail about the myths and secrets of novel writing success here, because you can read that article for yourself. But I do want to talk about another key to success (actually, it's not a new key at all, just a twist on an old one). Here it is...

You need to approach the writing of your novel like a tortoise, not like a hare.

I don't believe you can achieve anything that is worthwhile in this life in a rush. You can't "get rich quick" (did you ever hear of anybody who did?), and you certainly can't achieve something as complex as writing a successful novel at breakneck speed.

So my advice, Brenda, is to slow down and not impose arbitrary deadlines on yourself. If you aren't having much joy with literary agents, it could be that they have failed to recognize how great your novel is (!) More likely, though, is the possibility that the book still has plenty of room for improvement.

If this is the case, don't think of the process of revising your novel as some kind of drag. Look forward to working on the book every day and forget about how long it is taking. You will reach the end when you reach it!

Not only will this make the writing process more enjoyable, it should result in writing a novel that sells.

Harvey