Valuable Writing Advice

by Narelle Atkins

When I first started writing I joined a couple of romance writing groups. Back in the days before blogs and social media, writing email groups were one of the only sources of current information for writers. I learned about the best writing craft books from my writing groups. I received invaluable feedback on my writing from contests held by my writing groups.

Over the years I’ve gleaned a lot of valuable writing advice from writer friends I’ve met through my writing groups. In fact, this blog came into existence when a group of us from ‘ACFW Beyond the Borders’ decided to set up a blog to promote international Christian fiction.

One piece of writing advice that stands out in my memory is 'finish your first book, put it aside, and start writing the next one.' Writers often don’t sell their first book, and may write quite a few books before they make that seemingly elusive first sale.

I was cautioned to not get stuck on revising my first manuscript. The theory behind this is you learn the craft of writing by writing more books. If you ‘rest’ the first manuscript while writing the second manuscript, you’ll return to the first manuscript from a more objective position and will be more likely to see the flaws in your story.

Another benefit of having more than one completed manuscript is you have something else to pitch to editors and agents if they pass on your first book. Or, if the editor loves your first book, you’ll have more books ready for them to consider contracting in a multi-book deal.

I was blessed to sell the first manuscript I ever wrote to Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents line last year. After I accepted the offer of publication, my editor asked the big question: ‘Have you written anything else?’

Book 2 was written and I had ideas for Book 3 in my series set in Sydney, Australia. I also mentioned to my editor that I’d written a runaway bride story, Book 1 in a series set in a fictitious small town near the Snowy Mountains, Australia.

I wrote a number of book proposals, and I was blessed to be offered a 6-book contract last month. My runaway bride story, Running to Love, will be my first release in February 2014.

I’m thankful to all those wise writers who encouraged me to write multiple manuscripts. What piece of writing advice has been invaluable for your writing journey? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

NARELLE ATKINS writes contemporary inspirational romance and lives in Canberra, Australia. She recently sold her debut novel, set in Australia, to Harlequin's Heartsong Presents line in a 6-book contract. Her first book, Falling for the Farmer, will be a February 2014 release. 

She has published Bible Studies on Smashwords and blogs regularly at http://30MinuteBibleStudies.wordpress.com 

Narelle is a co-founder of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA) http://www.acrba.blogspot.com 

To learn more about Narelle, please visit her website.