Comments on: Building a Writing Career—The Real Secret Handshake

By: Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:14:25 +0000

Paul, I think I covered that here “I will admit that if you sell 100,000 hard covers every time your name appears on a dust jacket you can get away with all kinds of crappy behavior—though many will think the worse of you” as I would characterize that as crappy behavior. There may also be a point where “phoning it in” is the best possible novel someone can write given various constraints in terms of continuing to eat and what people are willing to buy from them. I certainly know of authors who’ve had the choice of writing another novel in a series they’ve grown to hate and making enough money to pay the mortgage, or writing something new that they love knowing that no one will buy it and they’ll up in ugly financial shape.

By: Paul Lamb

Paul Lamb — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:28:19 +0000

I’ve seen quite a few commercial authors who’ve sold 100,000 copies of their novels (enough of them to fill a small high school, maybe) who are no longer writing the best possible novel they could. They are simply phoning it in and trading on their name/reputation. Their editors let them get away with it. So do their agents.

By: Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:58:54 +0000

Tim, thanks, and true dat.

Carolyn, thank you, I really try to think in terms of the long run.

Gretchen, yes, I’ve been amazed sometimes at the difference even the most basic courtesy can make because the person I’m dealing with is so used to getting treated badly. And yes, the internet is forever and even anonymity is a lot more fragile than it looks.

By: Gretchen Hirsch

Gretchen Hirsch — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Courtesy, kindness, and common civility are so rare today that working and playing well with others actually makes you stand out. And that includes being kind on the Net. If you have the slightest doubt about what you’re putting online, don’t. It will live–and haunt you–forever. The person you flame today might be in position to buy your book tomorrow. But won’t.

By: carolyn crane

carolyn crane — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:04:00 +0000

This is just a great, thoughtful post, and so true. I love your emphasis on the career aspect of writing career.

By: Tim S.

Tim S. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:01:42 +0000

Excellent advice, and well said. You should write professionally.

“Now, I will admit that if you sell 100,000 hard covers every time your name appears on a dust jacket you can get away with all kinds of crappy behavior—though many will think the worse of you.”

And it’s worth remembering that at *some point*, your name will not sell 100,000 hard covers. You can’t control the market or people’s tastes, fashions or fads. What you can control is just what you’re pointing out, Kelly, and that’s what the people you deal with think of you.

By: Kelly McCullough

Kelly McCullough — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:23:03 +0000

Lisa, yep. I try to do this primarily because I believe it’s the right thing to do. But it also turns out to be a really useful tool for getting things done as well. I can’t count the number of times where simply being nice to people and treating them as I would want to be treated has brought good results in places as diverse as dealing with publishing professionals, airline agents, and operators at my local utilities.

By: LJCohen

LJCohen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:10:47 +0000

“Above all, treat people with respect and kindness as much as possible. Personally, I’ve found that this is a good idea in general for managing my life.”

Thank you for this. So well said. A lesson I learned from my parents early on, and one I work hard at getting my kids to follow.

It’s a small world and with archiving, the internet is forever.

Keeping it professional in my small corner of it. . .

best,
lisa