Advice From Writers For Writers

 

“The "best advice" I think is in reading good writers, not seeking advice from them, for we learn best by emulating the best.”

—Gay Talese 

“Don't ever write anything you don't like yourself and if you do like it, don't take anyone else's advice about changing it. They just don't know.”

—Raymond Chandler

 

“Success and failure are equally disastrous.”

—Tennessee Williams

 

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.”

—Samuel Johnson

 

“Resist much, obey little.”

—Walt Whitman

 

“It’s not wise to violate the rules until you know how to observe them.”

—T. S. Eliot

 

“You can't write fiction unless you read fiction.”

—Bill Adler

 

“It is more difficult to get a qualified literary agent than it is to get a publishing contract.”

—John Boswell

 

“Choose your agent as carefully as you would choose your accountant or lawyer. Or dentist.”

—Russell Banks

 

“The only advice I have to give a young novelist is to fuck a really good agent.”

—John Cheever

 

“I've always had a feeling it's dangerous to be friends with a writer.... you can end up talking away your books.”

—Norman Mailer

 

“The best advice on writing I've ever received was, "Rewrite it!" A lot of editors said that. They were all right. Writing is really rewriting—making the story better, clearer, truer.”

—Robert Lipsyte

 

“Reporting the extreme things as if they were the average things will start you on the art of fiction.”

—F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

“Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie.”

—Stephen King

 

“The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That's not true with non-fiction.”

—Tom Wolfe

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.