Simon Wood Advises SJ SinC group

Simon Wood came all the way from the Bay Area to speak with the San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime. He's a great guy, friendly, and I love his books!

He shared some of his wisdom and told the aspiring authors that if you want advances and to have your books in the bookstores you need to go the traditional way to be published:

1. Have the best possible book, already edited.
2. Find an agent so you can be picked up by a big publisher.

If you ever want to compete of the big prizes then you have to be with a big press. (Not always true but mostly.--my comment.)

Never, never pay an agent or a publisher or pay for a review. (I definitely agree.)
He added, there's plenty of other stuff you have to pay for yourself such as writers' conferences and mystery cons even if you're a big name writer.

Never disappoint your reader.

By the time the book hits the bookstore and has gone through the hands of the editor, the copy editor, etc. it is no longer your book. (Not so much with smaller presses.)

Remember, writing is a business and you must deal with the business stuff.

Simon still goes to writing groups and picks up new things.

He believes the poor economy has a lot to do with the state of publishing today.

This is all good advice--but there are other ways to go and one day I'll write about some of them. Anyone who has been following me and my writing, know that I've taken a different path.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

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