The One Thing You Must Not Forget

If there is one writing rule I hope new authors pick up reading my blog I hope it's this: NOTHING GOES ON SUBMISSION BEFORE YOUR CRIT PARTNER SEES IT.

Nothing.

You never, ever send writing to an editor, agent, or contest without letting someone else read it first.

I don't care if your name is William Shakespeare and you've been writing sonnets since 1592. You run that past someone else. Spell check ain't good enough, Willie. You get another pair of intelligent eyeballs on those words. No excuses.

Sending your work out without having someone else read it is like showing up to a firefight with one bullet. It's begging for failure.

You might actually be better off NOT sending that piece on submission, because at least then no one will blacklist you for being an illiterate cretin.

I know it's tempting to send your first draft into the world. To unleash your brilliance on your eager audience. But the fact is: authors are blind to their own mistakes. Your brain is lying to you. It's seeing commas where none are because it knows the commas belong there.

You need a crit partner. Find them and let them read before you do anything with your manuscript. You'll thank me later.