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Wednesday, July 5, 2017

IWSG

It's time for another meeting of THE INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP . . .Better known as IWSG because otherwise, it is a mouthful.

For those who don't know (And you don't???), this is an awesome group of writers, started by the just as awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh, with the purpose to support, help, assist, offer advice, offer a shoulder, cheer on, and about anything else you can think of along these lines. Writing is a roller coaster ride, and writers need all the support they can get.

If you want to join in, head over to the main site and sign up.

Special thanks goes to the amazing co-hosts:  Tamara Narayan, Pat Hatt, Patricia Lynne, Juneta Key, and Doreen McGettigan


This month's question (because my writing brain seems to be on Summer break) is:

What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing?

This one is easy because I've stepped into the same dumb hole time and time again.
It is. . .

Check. Double check. Triple check. And then check once again...or maybe twice before hitting that send button.

I can't say how often I've sent off a query or an email or a MS to an agent or publishing company, and overlooked some really stupid mistakes. I think I've managed to do every mishap possible over the years. Wrong agent's name, Mr. instead of Ms., didn't notice half a sentence was deleted, sent the wrong ms to the wrong person,...the list goes on and on and on. And all of these could have been avoided simply by standing up, getting a refill on my tea, and then sitting down and reading the whole thing through once again before sending it off.


What about you? What have you learned through this process called writing?




17 comments:

  1. I'm sorry! We've all done that though.

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  2. Have I told you yet how much I love the new background? So pretty! ^_^

    Omg, I've made so many querying mistakes. Good news is that they're all hilarious now. I never did the Mr/Ms one because I didn't use that salutation, for that reason, but I've had wrong names, misspelled a name, wrong personalization because I got two agents with the same first name mixed up. Fun times. ^_^

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  3. Been there, done all that too. I finally decided to send each and every query to myself, wait a minimum of 24 hours, and then reread before sending. I was sick and tired of popping awake at 2 a.m. realizing that the "to" I typed should have been "too".

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  4. Sounds familiar! I'd like to thing I've gotten better at that though.... :)

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  5. Oh boy! I used to mess up emails when I was an intern; sometimes, I'd forget the link or I'd forget to cut and paste a very crucial sentence into this email.

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    1. Sure sounds right. Check and check some more, check!

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    2. wrong spot, whoops, guess I didn't check that, huh? lol

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  6. I completely hear you on that one - I've considered several query letters rejected before I even heard back because I realized too late I left the wrong name on them. Stupid copy-paste. >_< I'm very, very careful about that now. (I hope.)

    And I really like the blog redesign. ^_^

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  7. That's some really good advice, and something so simple could make all the difference.

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  8. I'm one of those people who have to check everything over several times before I send anything out. It helps to keep me out of trouble, but it does slow me down too. Perhaps a nice middle ground would be nice.

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  9. OMGoodness, that's happened to me so many times too!!! You're absolutely right!!!

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  10. Yes! I can check something over and over and still miss something. It helps to come back later and read out loud, one word at a time.

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  11. I like your tip of walking away and coming back...I'll have to try that and maybe I can avoid some of my errors. LOL!

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  12. I'm sure that happens to the best of us. We live and we learn.

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I would love to hear your valuable Tidbits -