6 Writing Mistakes to Avoid

As a children's ghostwriter, I get a lot of drafts from new authors who want to be the author of their own children's books. Unfortunately, most of them are poorly written.

It's easy to see that they didn't put any effort into learning the basics of writing.

What's sadder is that many self-published authors don't even consider having a professional writer look at their work before publishing.

If you’re writing a book, I strongly recommend that you put effort, time, and even money (if necessary) into learning how to write.

To help you on your writing journey, here are six writing mistakes you should avoid.

1. You’ve never studied how to write but think you can do it.

It’s true there is a lot of information online that can give you writing instruction and advice, which may help you. But you’ve actually got to study it. 

I read an article equating building a chair to doing anything else correctly, like writing. The chair has four legs, a seat, and a back. How hard could it be to build one, right? But would you risk sitting on it if you don’t know what you’re doing? I wouldn’t.

You don’t know what you’re doing wrong until you know what you’re doing!

If you’re starting out, it’d be advisable to hire an editor or even a coach.

Don’t publish a poorly written book.

2. You’ll get to it when you get to it.

If you genuinely want to write a book, you will need to do the work.

This means you should write every day or at least have a set number of hours per week to write. Or you might have a weekly word count quota.

If you don’t commit to writing, life will quickly take over and make it nonessential.

Stay focused and committed.

3. Your first draft is good to go.

It’s important to get your story down, but the first draft shouldn’t be published.

Think of your first draft as a starting point. You’ll never know how good the manuscript can be until you keep working on it. 

In the article “The First Draft,” copywriter Demian Farnworth notes, “You’ll make your copy adequate in the first rewrite. Good in the second. Great in the third and fourth. More likely in the fifth and sixth. And beyond.”

Rewriting multiple times pertains to the fiction and nonfiction writer. Never assume your first draft is the end-all.

4. You can go from your first draft to your final draft and directly to publishing with no pauses in between.

Rushing the writing and publication process is a bad idea.

Your brain needs time away from the story before it can see it differently.

Mistakes you glance over during the first, second, or third readover will become visible when you take a couple of weeks away from the manuscript.

The reason it’s essential to take your time is because when you’re working on a project, your brain knows what you intended to write, so it will see that instead of what you may have actually written.

I’ve caught many mistakes by giving my brain a breather from a manuscript.

If you absolutely don’t have the time to give your manuscript a couple of weeks, give it at least one week.

5. You don’t need a second pair of eyes before publishing.

You’ve done it right and finished your manuscript. You’re ready to publish.

But hold on.

Even seasoned writers need another pair of eyes to go over their manuscripts before submitting or self-publishing.

It goes back to your brain. It knows what it knows. It sees what it expects to see. 

As a safety net, it’s a good idea to hire an editor to review your manuscript. At the very least, think about hiring a proofreader.

Any work you put out there reflects on you; make it shine. 

6. You don’t need to be on top of marketing your book.

You're safe if you wrote your book for you and your family. In this case, you don’t need to promote your book.

But, if you want to sell your book, marketing that book is a must.

According to Zippia.com, “Including self-published and commercially published, over 4 million new books were published in 2019.” 

And this statistic pertains only to the US book industry. 

Keep in mind that each year, that number increases.

Your one book will easily get lost in a sea of books published daily.

Book marketing is a must.

I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, rewriter, editor, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be the author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.

OTHER HELP I OFFER:

HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK
A DIY book to help you write your own children’s book.

PICTURE BOOK, CHAPTER BOOK, MIDDLE GRADE COACHING
Four to ten-week coaching programs.

WRITERS ON THE MOVE SELF-PUBLISHING HELP
Self-publishing help for children’s authors.

CREATING AN AUTHOR ONLINE PLATFORM
Step-by-step with a former WOW! Women on Writing author online platform instructor.

You can contact me at: kcioffiventrice@gmail.com. Or give me a call at 347—834—6700. (Please leave a message- I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)

MORE ON WRITING

Picture Books – Story or Illustrations, Which Comes First? 

Showing vs. Telling
What exactly does it mean to show rather than tell in your writing?

Writing Procrastination: IF and WHEN Were Planted and Nothing Grew 
Tips to Overcome Writing Procrastination