Tuesday's Tips for Flailing Writers

It's a basic question, but one which boggles a good many writers: What's the difference between story and plot? IO9 explains.


Repeated rejection is funny. At first it hurts, then it annoys, then it causes a numbing sensation that makes you wonder, 'Why bother?' But if you truly believe in your work, you can't give up. Remember, even the most well-respected authors were once rejects like you.


Self-publishing inevitably means self-promoting. But just as everyone with an idea is not necessarily a writer, everyone with a book is not necessarily a publicist. In an effort to help, Comics Worth Reading offers a few things to avoid when pimping your prose.


While we're on the topic of what-not-to-do, here's another: Should you go the self-publishing route, please-oh-please-oh-please do not make fake special orders of your book in an attempt to get it into bookstores. Not only will the duped bookstores do everything in their power to sabotage the sale of your book, they'll warn other bookstores, effectively ending your writing career before it's even begun.