Blogger: Wendy Lawton
PET PEEVE: People giving or passing along bogus career advice. I know. I know. It’s a symptom of our culture to dispense advice, wanted or unwanted, and some of us can’t help ourselves. After all, what is this blog but an advice dispensary? But I see so much off-the-wall stuff I can’t help commenting.
So let’s talk about bad advice here today. Let me start with a few sources of bad advice:
- Writer’s organizations— Some outrageous claims and advice have filtered down from online writers groups. The good thing is that an online groups is usually a forum where, if a person offers an opinion, several others jump in and give a balanced viewpoint. I have, however, experienced some in which certain viewpoints become so entrenched that those who normally offer balance become weary and tiptoe off. I’ve also observed that some Christian writers groups can paint an overly depressing picture of the industry because the writers who are succeeding don’t offer the counterpoint to those struggling. The successful seem to feel it is bragging or discounting the suffering of others to give a praise about a high five-figure deal, for instance, and so before long members are left with the stories of suffering. It’s like the old prayer meetings at church. When prayer request after prayer request concern lost jobs, bad diagnoses and prodigal children, who is “insensitive” enough to lift a hand to give a praise about a promotion at work?
- Writer friends— I’ve been part of a number of writer critique groups and noticed that in our eagerness to help we are all too ready to give advice based on one response from one editor or one conversation at a writer’s conference. Certain members seem to become advisors based on being just a few steps ahead of the others and dispense suggestions that can be way out in left field.
- Workshop presenters— Just because someone has been asked to present a workshop does not make that person an expert. For more than fifteen years I bought all the tapes from nearly every writers conference I attended and listened to them throughout the year. I’ve heard more crazy stuff than you’d ever believe. I’ve been a workshop presenter for many years and I never listen to my own tapes for the same reason. I know I can get carried away at times as well. When Janet Grant and I used to help plan the professional track at Mount Hermon we avoided offering a single presenter. Instead we offered mostly panels because the balance came out in the back-and-forth.
- Futurists— Yeah. ‘Nuff said. If you are going to take the advice of those who claim to know where the industry is going, more power to ye.
- Editors— Acquisition editors usually give excellent advice but remember, it is based on their house and their particular specialty. Don’t extrapolate this to be industry-wide. Each publisher is different.
- Other professionals— You may hear advice from publicists. marketers, social media specialists, etc. Often each one has a good idea or two but it’s important to collect many pieces of advice to try to find a happy medium. Just like with a panel discussion, listen to both sides of any opinion.
- Self-appointed experts— You know them. They establish a blog, try to gin up some controversy, and continue to position themselves as experts.
- Articles— Just because something is in print or on a website doesn’t mean the content has been curated.
- Anecdotes— Beware the stories that quote statistics. I’ve seen more bogus statistics than anything else. One trick with reporting success, for instance, is to take one statistical spike and build a pro forma model based on that. Dishonest.
So what’s a writer to do?
- Test the advice— Question it. Look for the dissenting voice to find possible balance. Be skeptical. Always remember the story of the ten blind men and the elephant. Each piece of advice may only be part of the picture.
- Look at the track record— If the person dispensing advice has a long track record of good advice or if you find a futurist who is wise and more right than wrong, give that voice more weight.
- Look at the motive— Some advice comes from someone who wants something from you– a marketer who wants your business, an agent who wants to woo you away from your current agent, a fellow writer who wants admiration, etc.
- Run it all by your trusted team— Build a team of wise, well-read advisors, people you can argue with and with whom you can rightly divide the truth from the fluff. Or just run it by your agent. 🙂
Even with our own Books & Such blog, consider each post as one single point of view. The nice thing about us is that we are a team of five agents who tend to run these things by our colleagues. There’s not a one of us who is afraid to say, I disagree with you. And, even better, we invite your opinion on each blog post. If we are off base, confront us.
So how about you? How do you test opinions and suggestions? How much do you trust futurists? What about a panel of professionals who prognosticate about what’s the next hot trend? How do you keep from being a wide-eyed believer?
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Writers: Beware bad advice. Literary agent @wendylawton dishes. Click to Tweet
Good post…there is a LOT of advice out there that’s simply wrong, or, perhaps more often, written against experiences that are too narrow in scope to be applied generally and not issued with that caveat.
And some of it has been mine.
Looking at it from the other side, I’ve given advice, either personally or written, that has been ranged from questionable to terrible. Some in areas in which I was unqualified to speak in the first place, and some in areas in which I was too well qualified, and while my advice might have been good for an expert it was not right for someone approaching from a lower level of experience.
I suppose that one can never be completely certain of one’s own motivations. I like to think that even my mistakes were well-meant, and not imparted to boost my own ego. But we’re all both better and worse than we think we are, and I simply don’t know.
There’s an interesting bit of serendipity in today’s post; the blog I write deals with Christian marriage and relationship issues, and I do regular head-checks with a professional therapist to make sure I don’t say something either stupid or dangerous – wrote to her a couple of days ago. It does feel like a tightrope, though, and I have contemplated quitting, just about every week. You have to be so right, all the time.
In my defence, I think I’ve had some experiences and have a perspective that others may find useful, even as a non-professional, and these do call for a consistent forum to be properly developed…
…but that may be hubris talking. And saying that I lift every post and comment to God in prayer is, while true, potentially an even more insidious form of spiritual hubris, and an effort to deflect responsibility from me to Him.
In the end it’s a choice, to write the thing or not. I only hope to God I’m making the right one.
Andrew, I admire you.
Shelli, thank you – and, likewise.
Your comments here, and your blog, can illuminate the darkest days with faith, hope, and love.
I admire you too, Andrew.
Kathy, thank you. Truly.
It’s true, Andrew, we move forward with fear and trembling. As I said, I’ve given some knuckle headed advice in my day– it’s one of the dangers of being a teacher or blogger.
The nice thing about being a blogger is it is a conversation and our commenters– both yours and mine– will not be shy about calling us on our blunders, right?
So true!
Good reminders, Wendy! I’ve seen some outrageous advice and promises too, especially from some of those writers organizations you mentioned.
And it’s especially hard with promises or encouragement. We’re called to be encouragers but when do we cross the line and give false encouragement? It’s a worry.
Great post, Wendy. Really appreciate the way you break down the topic and present, well, great advice. 🙂 The word that comes to mind is discernment. Oh, how we need to discern, all things. Thank you! 🙂
Makes me think of Proverbs 3:21
“My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them…”
Amen! 🙂
Exactly, discernment. Of course when we are just learning, it’s hard to separate the chaff from the grain.
I think what works for one person may not work for another. I try to remember to say, “in my experience” before making suggestions to other writers. When I attend workshops or online groups, I take everything in, but I know that some of it will not apply to my work. As for futurists, it’s just like the stock market. You can go on all day about what happened in the past, but the market does not always behave as it has in the past.
That is a wise preface, Emily ~
“In my experience…”
Hopefully people will think and check before blindly following.
Emily, it sounds like you present your observations with a good dose of humility. Nothing is more appealing.
Wendy, thank you. There are so many opinions. When I have questions or concerns, I always hope I’ll have a chance to ask on your blog because I know between you agents and other writers here, I’ll get a good balanced answer. When something is really pressing on my heart, it’s amazing how one of you will be writing about that very issue. God’s timing, you know. 🙂
Shelli, I also find “good balanced answer(s)” here. Amen to “God’s timing”. ❀
Thank you, Shelli. Many voices– both agent voices and our community of voices– make for a balance.
Good thoughts. Reminds me of what I think when I hear a sermon. Perhaps be a Berean fits in all arenas. I’ve gotten so I have a conversation with the Holy Spirit about what I hear and it helps immensely!
One of the gifts you have, Kathleen, is to be a dedicated questioner. we’ve always learned so much from you because you keep questioning.
I am so, so grateful for authors and industry pros who share generously of their experience and knowledge. That said, I try to remember not only to add “in my experience” to my own advice (as Emily said) but to mentally add it to advice I hear. We may long for that Secret Key that unlocks all mysteries, but as my grandma used to say, “There ain’t no such animal.”
Yep. We need to listen hard and chew on things before swallowing everything whole.
Wendy, I think we need to base our opinions the same way we would do research, by reading widely. The truth tends to be somewhere in the middle of the extremes.
I like your mention of prayer meetings. Even they should be a balance of requests and praise. When I hear happy ending stories it gives me hope.
Without hope we give up.
Thank you, all five of you, for presenting balanced posts that teach and encourage all writers in all stages of the journey.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac ❀
We don’t necessarily give up with when hope is lost – it’s then that we can focus most clearly on things like honor and sportsmanship, even if no one is listening nor watching, and God seems far away.
There is always something worth doing, even in the face of death.
So true, Andrew. We must keep our hope anchored in the Rock.
One of my favorite bloggers, Bill, is a Christian with ALS who blogs using a device that tracks his eye movement. He is a blessing to all who read his blog. unshakablehope.wordpress.com
Your faith reminds me of him. ❀
I just read his post – thank you for that link, and for the comparison. I am so honored.
And hope is what is in short supply, I think.
I get tired of hearing how bad our industry is, how few slots, how tough it is to make it as a writer (or an agent). All I know is that I keep selling books (40 so far this year) and I made my annual sales goal over a month ago. Not bad for a market that is “declining” eh? 😉
Congratulations, Wendy, on breaking your sales goal. 🙂
There is also advice that’s based upon the state of knowledge at the time…but it has been quite a while since my doctor brought out his jar of leeches.
A salient example is the use of catharsis in a group therapy setting to treat combat-induced PTSD. Psychologists were advised that this was the best way to deal with them “in the open”.
It makes sense when you read it, but it’s completely wrong for many veterans. When it was instituted, suicides rose.
Some memories and emotions are best left in boxes in the mind’s basement, and accepted with the attendant crippling of emotional scope.
The advice was well-meant, but probably didn’t take into account the paradigm shift in an individual’s perspective once the line into lethal violence had been crossed. But the rub is that without trying the therapy, it couldn’t be seen a priori to be largely a failure.
So interesting, Andrew. Isn’t it terrible that sometimes the only way we learn is by following bad advice and seeing that the outcome does not work?
It sure is; the cost was very high, in this case.
Thanks for being the voice of reason and balance, Wendy. There is so much information out there and it’s often presented as absolute truth. Sometimes it’s hard to separate fact from personal opinion or experience.
Your post was timed perfectly. I just spent the weekend at a wonderful writer’s conference and I learned so much from the presentations as well as from talking with other writers. Your words are a reminder for me to keep everything in the proper perspective!
We need to listen carefully and put advice to the test.
As we say in the law, caveat emptor. Or as my mother used to say, take everything with a grain of salt. I’ve become plenty skeptical, beginning with law school and continuing on through plain old life experience as an adult. It’s a delicate balance, though. We don’t want to become cynical and distrusting of everyone and everything. A healthy faith and prayer life helps loads. I particularly appreciate that in your agency you consult with each other. Thank you, Wendy, for such detailed advice.
You are welcome. And yes, we are blessed at Books & Such that we have colleagues who hold us accountable. We are constantly running things by each other. So many conversations begin with, “Am I off base here. . .?”
I’ve lived long enough to have experienced success and failure based on advice I acted upon. I’ve been guilty of spouting off an opinion disguised as impartial advice and regretted the consequence when someone followed my “wisdom.” It isn’t only in writing we must seek discernment, but in every area of life.
When I’m tempted to give my two-cents worth, I think about my parenting journey. Before my first child was born, I read the popular advice books and KNEW how to raise a child. By the time I birthed child number four, I felt I knew nothing. Four children with four different personalities none of which responded to a one-size-fits-all parenting approach.
Methinks it is the same with writing.
How true. I have to watch myself because it is second nature for me to spout off with advice. I keep repenting of being what I call the “Fix-it Fairy.” 🙂
Good advice, Wendy. Thank you for the timely reminder. We writers are always researching everything, it is wise to check out any advice before acting on it.
I imagine you have seen a lot go both ways in your career.
Just as soon as I think I have something down pat, I realize I know nothing. 😉
This is a great post, Wendy!
One thing I’ve learned to take into account is that some people love to give advice because it makes them feel smart and informed. For this reason, I try to take into account what I know about the person who is giving the advice. Receiving a lot of incorrect information over the years has also motivated me to be very careful about GIVING advice and guidance. There are so many people out there who want to know how to succeed as writers, and I do not want to lead them astray. My tendency is to back up the information by sharing where I found it (For example, “Wendy Lawton blogged about this exact thing, and she said…”).
Thanks for the great advice on advice :).
But you are so wonderful in that you are a listener and an encourager, Jeanette– far more valuable than a wholesale advice dispenser.
Thank you so much, Wendy! I would much rather encourage than instruct. Your words really blessed me :).
It’s also important to remember that what works for a suspense author, for example, may not work for a historical fiction author. What works for a writer who also teaches at conferences (and therefore has great name recognition) may not work for a writer who doesn’t teach. What works for a writer who writes nonfiction may not apply to a novelist. We each have a unique journey and it’s best to sift each “expert’s” wisdom through a lens of “who am I, what do I write, where does God want me.”
Amen, Steph!
Wendy, how brave of you to warn us to consider the advice and the one advising. Another area of concern, unless I missed it in someone else’s post, is the situation. The advice might be good but not for that person or that time.
I love the mention of the blind men & elephant and the grains of salt. I claim to live by those two ideas! I wish my choices supported that! Only when I first heard the blind men & elephant story (in a university philosophy class), there were only five blind men. Of course, I’m pretty sure I’m way older than you, which would account for the increasing number of men over the years! 🙂
I do believe each of your agency members takes seriously the advice they give. Thanks.
Yep. The situation is paramount.
Wendy,
What a great topic and terrific advice for authors. The publishing world continues to change and evolve. I’m amazed when people talk in absolutes and great authority–yet they have no idea the reality of the marketplace. Thank you for these words.
Terry
Thanks, Terry. How fun to see you here! (And folks, Terry has been in the industry for a loooong time.)
Wendy, you hit a responsive chord, for sure. I’m forwarding this to my critique group, which meets tonight.
Also appreciate the discussion, all of which seems laced with practical experience and insight. Too often, the writer seeking answers is at a crossroads of decision, which compounds the problem if he or she doesn’t wait for the balanced back-and-forth input.
I’ve been blessed many times by the wise reminder that nowhere in scripture do we see Jesus in a hurry.
Interesting observation about Jesus and hurrying. I’ve never thought of that.
Will I see you at OCW next summer? I’ll be sure to save up plenty of advice for you. 😉
Wendy, having given two writer workshop presentations this past weekend, your third item gives me pause.
I pray that I didn’t say anything crazy or give bad instruction.
Thanks for the reminder to be careful in what I say.
I’ll bet you were wonderful. Just don’t listen to your tapes. 🙂 Works for me.
Yes, listening to my recordings is most painful for me, both for what I said and how I sound!
Don’t worry, Peter. I heard you present this weekend. No craziness or bad instruction…just a lot of great information!
See, Peter, I knew. Thanks, Jen.
Dear Wendy, I really enjoyed your blog today. This is some of the best advice I’ve ever read for writers! I loved your take on things and the comments that follow. There is a lot of information here and it certainly explains a lot of the what I’ve run into. Now I understand a whole lot more than I did several minutes ago! Thanks for sharing. 🙂