The best/ worst writing advice I ever got was…
By
Pamela DuMond
Hi, Becky!
Thanks for having me on your blog!
This post could be a book in itself or simply the words in the Nike ad, “Just Do It.”
When the writing bug hits you—everyone will have some kind of opinion about what you’re writing, or how you’re writing it. If you’re like me, you’ll want to read various blogs and other sources how best to do things. And there you will find some great advice as well as more rules.
Here are a few things I’ve been told/advised:
“Don’t write in first person.”
Hmm. First person POV seems to be doing pretty well for a lot of YA and NA authors…
Lesson: Write in the voice that feels appropriate for your story.
“You need to re-write your entire book in the first person,” Esteemed Agent regarding my first book – Cupcakes, Lies, and Dead Guys.
That book’s sold over 30,000 copies in the voice that I originally wrote it: third person, multiple POV.
Lesson: Same as above.
“Dear Novice Writer. I see you’re writing a time travel book. That is sweet. However, you should only write WHAT YOU KNOW.” Amazon Breakout Novel Award Vine Reviewer regarding my book The Messenger.
Apparently the authors of all those other time travel books have actually time traveled. (I am so jealous!)
Lesson: Write what you love. Write what interests you.
Your small press publisher will edit your ms after you’ve edited it.
“How come this author uses so many commas?” Reviewers said.
Lesson: Maybe—if you’re lucky. Don’t count on it. Hire editors and beta readers to help you edit.
“You SHOULD NOT self-publish. Maybe there’s a reason that book’s being turned down. Stick it in a drawer and get onto the next one.” Said a zillion blogs, lit agents, etc.
Maybe they’re right about a certain book.
Maybe they’re not.
I’m currently self-publishing all my books. I control the cover art, I decide when to release a book, pick the price, put it on sale, and choose a narrator for an Audible version.
I might go with a traditional press some day. And I might not. Right now, I couldn’t be happier.
Lesson: Life is precious, but it isn’t always perfect, or easy, or pretty. Life is also short. My mom died unexpectedly Feb. 16, 2014. I tucked a copy of my book The Messenger into her casket.
My advice to you?
Follow your dreams. Tell the people you hold close to your heart that you love them. Believe in yourself. You can do this! And live life bravely.
Thanks so much, Pamela! Excellent advice…keep reading to learn more about Pamela and her Mortal Beloved series, and enter her giveaways!
Pamela DuMond is the author who discovered Erin Brockovich’s life story, thought it would make a great movie and pitched it to ‘Hollywood’.
She writes romantic comedic mysteries, romantic YA time travel and New Adult romance.
Her book The Story of You and Me was a Quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakout Novel Award (ABNA) 2014 in Romance.
Cupcakes, Pies, and Hot Guys was a Quarterfinalist in ABNA 2013 in Mystery .
She’s addicted to TV shows — The Voice and Reign. The movies Love Actually and The Bourne trilogy (with Matt Damon — not that other actor guy,) make her cry ever time she watches them. (Like — a thousand.)
When she’s not writing Pamela’s also a chiropractor and cat wrangler. She loves reading, the beach, working out, movies, TV, animals, her family and friends. She lives in Venice, California with her fur-babies.
She likes her coffee strong, her cabernet hearty, her chocolate dark, her foods non-GMO and she lives for a good giggle.
by Pamela DuMond
(Mortal Beloved #1)
Publication date: December 26th 2013
Genres: Time-Travel, Young Adult
“All the excitement of OUTLANDER if it was a YA series.”
THE MESSENGER is optioned for film/TV.
Sixteen-year-old Madeline’s meant to fall in love with Samuel in every lifetime. But she meets him for the first time when she accidentally time travels into the past—hundreds of years before she’s even born.
Their relationship is forbidden—Samuel’s half Native, Madeline’s white. Every rendezvous they share must be secret. Each moment they spend together tempts the odds that they’ll be discovered and brutally punished. But their love is fated—and they musk risk it all.
Danger intensifies when Madeline learns she’s in the past not only to fall in love, but also to claim her birth right as a Messenger—a soul who can slip through time’s fabric at will. She can bring messages that change one life or even save many.
Deadly Hunters, dark-souled time travelers, crave Madeline’s powers and seek to seduce or kill her. Can Madeline find her way back to the future in time to save herself and Samuel?
Continue reading Madeline and Samuel’s romantic saga in…
The Assassin (Mortal Beloved, Book 2) — publishing early 2015.
The Seeker (Mortal Beloved, Book 3) — publishing fall 2015.
The book sounds amazing. I love reading about time travel. Thanks for having the giveaway.
Don’t write in first person? Whaaaaa?? That’s by far my fav tense especially in contemporary books and all of my friends are the same. We have a very hard time connecting to characters in 3rd person. That’s a weird advice. I mean iI have read books in 3rd person that were spectacular, but there’s something about a first person tense story that really puts us into the minds of the character and there’s nothing quite like that! 🙂
I know–crazy, right?
agree editing is important