How to avoid murdering your career

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Ever feel like you are strangling a story to death?

I feel your pain. Really, I do. Sometimes I think my WIP needs to be put out of my misery.

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So, let’s all avoid the paper shredder. Because there’s help by – 10 Career Killers by David McFarland Story Doctor.

Here is what I learned from reading 10 Career Killers.

  1. Critics don’t buy books. Don’t write like a professor, write for your reader.
  2. Idiots don’t buy books either. Don’t dumb down your writing.
  3. Develop a wide range of topics. Don’t be a one-hit wonder. Don’t become bland.
  4. Keep up with technology. Learn to speak. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you.
  5. Be thankful when fans or critics point out things that need changing. Then do it.
  6. Keep writing. Don’t let success kill your talent.
  7. Invest and save. Remember the law of gravity. What goes up must come down.
  8. Focus on your writing. Don’t let outside forces suck up your time.
  9. Figure out what to write and how to market it. Don’t rely on others to make you rich.
  10. Remember the rules of kindergarten and play nice. Don’t burn any bridges.

I usually have a favorite when I read a list of writing tips, but picking just one of these is hard. If I had to pick, I’d pick #3. Why? Because I love all genres and mediums. I love e-books, movies, YouTube, and apps. To me, technology is fun. I can enjoy reading everything from a Steven King novel, a children’s picture book to the latest Vampire YA.

David goes into a lot more detail in his post. After you’ve clicked and read the entire thing, be sure and let me know what you thought. 

Which of his writing tips do you relate to?

Got another tip to avoid killing a writing career? Do share.

I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or click the “write me” tab or you can contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell,Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com. Just do stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

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44 thoughts on “How to avoid murdering your career”

  2. A lot of people are scared of criticism. Guess it’s human nature! But criticism whether good or bad is where writers have the greatest access to success.Great tips! Haven’t reached the bravery required to write my own book yet but will definitely keep this in mind. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  5. #2 — No writer should dumb down their writing for the benefit of people who won’t ever read their books (or blog posts) anyway — not even if Grammarly tells them “familiar” is too big a word.

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Reblogged this on Read.Write.Discuss.Repeat. and commented:
    Hello all,

    Recently, I have not had much to write about. I’m currently in the middle of writing a futuristic war romance story (which I will write about when it is completed) and doing non-writing course work.

    So, I decided that until I’m ready to write about me, I’ll spread the blog love by re-blogging something cool.

    I found this wonderful article on how to avoid murdering your career. I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!

    Liked by 2 people

  8. Pingback: Re-blog…How to avoid murdering your career | Read.Write.Discuss.Repeat.

  14. Number 3 for me. I’ve written on a wide variety of topics, and my brain doesn’t like sticking to any specific one. I like certain genres more than others, fantasy and sci-fi usually, but once the muse has given inspiration, I try not so ignore it.
    Great post, Jean!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Same here Blake, I get bored easily. Love fantasy, sci-fi not so much and I also find my genres tend to evolve in cycles. I’ll gravitate to one for awhile and then on to another. LOL

      Like

  15. Lovely! so simple and so important. I can relate to #10 but from the other side, have known an author who burned their bridge with me when I gave them a not perfect 4 star review of their book. These are all so great, worth showing all authors, even people just new to writing like me :). thank you

    Liked by 1 person

  16. This is great! I’m glad I read this because at the moment I’m trying out a new sort of writing and I’m nervous about leaving my comfort zone. So happy to have encountered your list especially #3! Cheers.

    Liked by 2 people

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