Is your writing good enough to be published?

 

Please don’t share this page with others as it is intended only for those who have purchased Dwight Clough’s How to Write and Publish Your Book course…

 

 

Lesson #5
Is your writing good enough to be published?

 

Do you need to be a good writer to author a book?

No. You can hire someone to write your book for you. Many authors do. Expect to pay. In the past I’ve charged 25 cents a word—give or take—to write a book for someone, and most books are 20,000 to 50,000 words. Some ghostwriters charge far more. Some charge less.

You can also hire an editor. Just be aware that most editors can’t fix bad writing. If you’re a great storyteller, for example, but just run into problems with spelling and grammar, then you need an editor. However, if your writing is unclear, vague, meandering, or unfocused, then you need a ghostwriter or a re-writer—an editor on steroids. You need someone who understands you, your message, your reader, your purpose, and can help you structure your message so you get it across. That’s what I’ve focused on doing for my clients for the last 15 years.

 

How do you tell if your writing is good enough?

Here are five qualities separate writing pros from wannabes:

Are you getting your point across?
Quality #1: Clarity
Is your writing clear? Good writing communicates. It gets your point across. Without clarity, it doesn’t matter how profound your thoughts are; they stay locked up inside of you. If your reader doesn’t understand your message, it’s up to you to fix the problem.

Here’s a simple test. Find a one-page sample of your writing. Give it to five people. Ask them to read it and tell you in their own words what they just read. Did they get it? Do they understand? Or do you need to explain it a different way?

Do you know why you’re writing?
Quality #2: Purpose
Beginning writers write first and figure out their purpose later. That’s okay for a private journal, but it won’t work in the world of blogs, books, letters, reports and scripts. Professionals know their purpose before they write. Before the first keystroke, they ask: Who is my reader? What do I want my reader to do or to experience? If you don’t know where you’re going, you won’t get there. Professionals write with purpose.

Are you bringing value to your reader?
Quality #3: Value
Write well and you add value to your reader. You enrich your reader’s life. Have you ever been to a restaurant where nobody cares if you get served on time or if the meal is properly prepared? If you have, you probably never went back. Businesses must add value to your life, or they lose you as a customer. In the same way, people won’t waste their time reading your book or blog unless they expect to get value from it. You must deliver, or they will write you off.

Does every word count?
Quality #4: Focus
Have you ever started a fire with a magnifying glass? By focusing the sun’s rays, they become much more powerful. In the same way, your writing becomes more powerful when you focus every word on your purpose. Good writers learn to clear away the clutter and get to the point. They write tight, concise prose focused on the message they want to convey and the purpose they want to achieve. Every word that doesn’t move them toward those objectives is trimmed. In the end, every word counts.

Are you distracting your reader from your message?
Quality #5: Accuracy
Have you ever been at an event where the sound system wasn’t working properly? Remember how distracting that was? Errors in your writing distract your reader in the same way and keep him from focusing on your message. For example, I cringe every time I hear the word administrate; the correct word is administer. Did he really kiss you on the creek? Did you mean wench or wrench? Bullion or bouillon, prostrate or prostate, raze or raise? Choosing the wrong word is distracting for the reader and embarrassing for the writer. Did you mean your or you’re? There, their or they’re? Use the right word and spell it correctly. While nobody’s writing (including mine) is 100% error free, keep your mistakes to a minimum. Learn these language skills and/or hire someone to proofread your work.

 

Secrets of a professional writer: 10 quick and easy ways to improve your writing

#1 Write in stages. Have fun at the beginning. Clean up the mess later.

#2 If you get stuck, don’t start at the beginning; start in the middle. You can write the beginning later.

#3 Rewrite. Put it away. Come back to it later. Read it aloud. Rewrite.

#4 Use fewer words. Use only the words you need to carry your meaning.

#5 Remove words ending in -ly. You don’t need 98% of them. Eliminate most adverbs, and let your verbs do the work.

#6 Remove “very,” “sort of,” “kind of” and all other qualifiers. Don’t hedge. Don’t gush. Just say it.

#7 Don’t write to impress, write to communicate.

#8 If you’re not 100% sure what a word means, Google it. Word choice errors damage your credibility. Use words with precision. (See “Commonly confused words” below.)

#9 Get a friend to read what you’ve written and explain it back in his or her own words. Did you communicate? If not, try again or get help.

#10 Write for your reader. Keep it interesting by keeping it relevant. If you’re writing fiction or narrative nonfiction, remember that the story is focused on the problem your main character is trying to solve. Don’t wander far from that central conflict.

 

20 bonus suggestions

Here are more ways to improve your writing:

#11 Don’t try to be clever. Just be clear.

#12 Writing = thinking. Many people don’t understand this. They imagine that writing is all about words. No. Not really. Writing is about thoughts. If you think clearly, then you can write clearly. Words are just the tools you use to express those thoughts. By the way, I do NOT like to be called a “wordsmith.” That’s not really what I do. I’m a thinker. I just use words to express those thoughts.

Years ago, when I was young, my mom worked as a secretary. From time to time, her boss asked her to compose a letter or a report. She hated to write, so she called me up and said, “Just give me some good words.” It always made me laugh because “good words” do not exist. Yes, I ended up writing those letters and reports for her—I don’t think her boss ever knew—but I could only write them once I understood what the project was all about. Who was it to? What was it for? What did they need to know? Once I understood it (thoughts), then writing it (words) was easy. Without good thoughts, there are no “good words.”

#13 There is a certain cadence to good writing. I hear it in my head. I don’t know exactly how to teach this, but read some great writing aloud. Maybe you’ll hear it too.

#14 Tone. Have you ever sent an email or posted something on social media, and then later regretted it? Sometimes, the right message poorly packaged is worse than no message at all. Instead of coming across as helpful and empathetic, we can come across as arrogant, rude, condescending, or offensive. This is where you really need to understand the personality and subculture of your reader. If the tone is off, you’ll end up in damage control mode, trying to back pedal what you’ve communicated. And that’s no fun. If you’re not sure how you’re coming across, ask people to read what you’ve written—people who are willing to tell you the raw, honest truth.

#15 Know when to break the rules. Not many English teachers write best selling books. Why? Here’s one reason: They know the rules, but they don’t know when to break them. When the rules get in the way of your message, you wanna ditch the rules. Really.

#16 You’re not trying to bring attention to your writing. You’re trying to bring attention to your message. Big difference.

#17 Writing math:
Many words + little thought = bad writing
Few words + much thought = good writing

#18 Listen to your critics. Sift what they say. Sometimes they actually know what they’re talking about.

#19 If you can’t explain it on a 6th grade level, you don’t understand it. Sorry. You just don’t. Don’t make yourself look smart at the expense of your reader. Aim to make your reader feel smart. Bad writing makes the reader feel stupid. Along with this, don’t use big words just because you can. Instead, use the word that best carries your message to your reader.

#20 Practice. If you take a thousand photos, at least one of them will probably be good. Good writers write. A lot. Much of what they write is so so, but some of it is brilliant.

#21 Does your reader care? Your writing is good if your reader cares about the characters you create or the ideas you present.

#22 Good writing surprises us; it takes us down a path we didn’t expect to travel.

#23 If it’s hard to keep reading, then something went wrong.

#24 If you’re bored, your reader is bored right along with you.

#25 Google “show don’t tell.”

#26 Good writers know where they’re going and how each sentence connects to the big picture.

#27 Think outside the box. I was having a hard time explaining a complex proposal for alleviating poverty. So I used hand drawn comics. I’m no great artist, but people viewed the comic and immediately understood what I was trying to say.

#28 Humor helps. Humor hurts. If you don’t know the difference, don’t use it.

#29 Take a risk. Write a horrible first draft. When you look at it the next day, you’ll find the hidden gems that will inspire you to rewrite until they shine.

#30 Good writers finish, but they don’t finish everything. I’ve started dozens of books I never finished. Have the sense to know when a project isn’t working. At the same time, I’ve also written and published 25 books. I never would have finished even one of them if I hadn’t come to the place where I said to myself, “Good enough.” No, none of my books is perfect. None of yours will be either. But the only way you get across the finish line is coming to the point where you can say, “Good enough.”

 

In the resources below you’ll find three good books on writing: On Writing Well, Elements of Style, and Save the Cat.

 

Commonly confused words

Here’s a partial list of words that are commonly confused. If you’re not sure how to use these (or any other) words, Google them.

advice / advise
affluence / effluence
aisle / isle
alliterate / illiterate
angel / angle
appraise / apprise
are / our
ascent / assent
attain / obtain
bail / bale
ball / bawl
bare / bear
bazaar / bizarre
beat / bead
began / begun
benefactor / beneficiary
beside / besides
biweekly / semiweekly
block / bloc
blog / post
blonde / blond
blunt / brunt
boarders / borders
bonds / bounds
born / borne
borrow / loan
bought / brought
brake / break
brang / brung / brought
breach / breech
breath / breathe
bring / take
broke / broken
bullion / bouillon
by / ’bye / buy
Calvary / cavalry
canon / cannon
canvas / canvass
capital / capitol
caramel / carmel
carat / caret / carrot / karat
censor / censure / sensor / censer
Champaign / Champagne
chute/shoot
cite / site / sight
clench / clinch
click / clique
coarse / course
coliseum / Colosseum
collaborate / corroborate
collage / college
Colombia / Columbia
coma / comma
complement / compliment
confident / confidant / confidante
conscience / conscious
contaminates / contaminants
continual / continuous
copywrite / copyright
core / corps / corpse
costumer / customer
council / counsel / consul
credible / credulous
crevice / crevasse
criteria / criterion
crochet / crotchet / crotchety
cue / queue
currant / current
dairy / diary
decent / descent / dissent
deformation / defamation
defuse / diffuse
degrade / denigrate / downgrade
demure / demur
depreciate / deprecate
desert / dessert
desirable / desirous
deviant / deviate
device / devise
devote / devout
dew / do / doo / due
dialogue / discuss
differ / vary
dike / dyke
disburse / disperse
disc / disk
discreet / discrete
discussed / disgust
disinterested / uninterested
dolly / handcart
dominate / dominant
done / did
douse/dowse
dozed / dosed
drank / drunk
dredge / drudge / trudge
dribble / drivel
drier / dryer
drug / dragged
dual / duel
dyeing / dying
ecology / environment
economic / economical
elegy / eulogy
elicit / illicit
emergent / emergency
emigrate / immigrate
eminent / imminent / immanent
empathy / sympathy
endemic / epidemic
engine / motor
enquire / inquire
ensure / insure
entomology / etymology
envelop / envelope
envious / jealous
epic / epoch
epigram / epigraph / epitaph / epithet
error / err
espouse / expound / expand
ethics / morals / morale
everyone / every one
exalt / exult
exasperate / exacerbate
exited / excited
exorcise / exercise
explicitly / implicitly
expressed / express / expresso
extend / extent
fair / fare
faithful / fateful
farther / further
fatal / fateful
faun / fawn
faze / phase
feint / faint
fiance / fiancee
fiscal / physical
flair / flare
flak / flack
flaunt / flout
floe / flow
flounder / founder
foot / feet
for / fore / four
formally / formerly
foul / fowl
furl / furrow
gaff / gaffe
gamut / gauntlet
gauge / gouge
gibe / jibe / jive
gift / give
gig / jig
gild / guild
gone / went
good / well
got / gotten
gratis / gratuitous
gray / grey
grill / grille
grisly / grizzly /gristly
hangar / hanger
hanged / hung
hardy / hearty
hark / hearken
heal / heel
hear / here
heroin / heroine
Hindi / Hindu
historic / historical
hoard / horde
hock / hawk
hole / whole
humus / hummus
hysterical / hilarious
idea / ideal
idle / idol
imply / infer
in spite of / despite
incidences / incidents / instances
incredulous / incredible
indite / indict
infamous / notorious
insight / incite
install / instill
instances / instants
intense / intensive
interment / internment
Internet / intranet
intramural / extramural
intricate / integral
invite / invitation
itch / scratch
its / it’s
jam / jamb
judgment / judgement
late / former
later / latter
Latino / Hispanic
leach / leech
lead / led
least / lest
leave / let
legend / myth
less / fewer
lessen / lesson
lets / let’s
liable / libel
lie / lay / laid / lain
lightening / lightning
likeliness / likeness
loath / loathe
loose / lose
loser / looser
lot / plenty
luxuriant / luxurious
manner / manor
mantle / mantel
marital / martial / marshal
masseuse / masseur
material / materiel
may / might
mean / median
meantime / meanwhile
medal / metal / meddle / mettle
medium / median
meteor / meteoroid
miner / minor
minuet / minute
mislead / misled
moral / morale
more / most
mother load / mother lode
motion / move
mucus / mucous
nauseated / nauseous
naval / navel
nicety / niceness
notate / note
obsolescent / obsolete
oppress / repress
oral / verbal
ordinance / ordnance
oversee / overlook
overtake / take over
pair / pare / pear
palate / palette / pallet
parameters / perimeters
paramount / tantamount
partake / participate
passed / past
patience / patients
pawn off / palm off
payed / paid
peace / piece
peak / peek / pique
peal out / peel out
peasant / pheasant
pedal / peddle
pen / pin
perpetrate / perpetuate
persecute / prosecute
personal / personnel
perspective / prospective
perverse / perverted
phantom / fathom
phenomena / phenomenon
phoney / phony
pickup / pick up
plain / plane
pleaded / pleated
plus / add
podium / lectern
poisonous / venomous
pole / poll
populace / populous
pore / pour
practicable/practical
pray / prey
precede / proceed
precedence / precedents
precipitate / precipitous
predominant / predominate
premier / premiere
premise / premises
prescribe / proscribe
principle / principal
prophecy / prophesy
prosperity / posterity
prostrate / prostate
protagonist / proponent
proved / proven
psychologist / psychiatrist / psychotherapist / psychoanalyst
purposely / purposefully
question / ask
quiet / quite
rack / wrack
raise / raze
rampart / rampant
ran / run
rational / rationale
ravaging / ravishing / ravenous
reactionary / reactive
rebelling / revolting
rebut / refute
recent / resent
refrain / restrain
refute / reject
regard / regards
regime / regimen / regiment
regretfully / regrettably
reign / rein / rain
reluctant / reticent
repel / repulse
replete / complete
request / ask
resign / re-sign
resister / resistor
retch / wretch
reticent / hesitant
retrospective / retroactive
revolve / rotate
revue / review
ridged/rigid
riffle / rifle
ringer / wringer
risky / risqué
rob / steal / burglarize / burgle
role / roll
root / rout / route
rouge / rogue
rye / wry
sacred / scared
sail / sale / sell
sang / sung
sarcastic / ironic
say / tell scarcely
scone / sconce
seam / seem
seasonable / seasonal
seen / saw
sense / since
sensual / sensuous
service / serve
set / sit
setup / set up
shall / will
shear / sheer
sheath / sheaf
shimmy / shinny
shined / shone
shone / shown
shook / shaken
shrunk / shrank
sick / sic
silicon / silicone
soar / sore
social / societal
sojourn / journey
sole / soul
spaded / spayed
specially / especially
specie / species
sprain / strain
squash / quash
staid / stayed
stalactites / stalagmites
stand / stance
stationary / stationery
steak / stake
straight / strait
straightened / straitened
stricken / struck
striped / stripped
succeed / secede
suit / suite
sulking / skulking
summary / summery
swam / swum
systematic / systemic
taken back / taken aback
taught / taunt / taut / tout
tempera / tempura
tenant / tenet
than / then
that / which
though / thought / through
threw / through
throne / thrown
tick / tic
timber / timbre
tolled / told
took / taken
tore / torn
torturous / tortuous
tragedy / travesty
troop / troupe
trustee/trusty
tussled / tousled
undo / undue
use / usage / utilize
vain / vane / vein
vapid / vacuous
vary / very
veracious / voracious
verses / versus
vicious / viscous
viola / voila
wail / whale
wander / wonder
wary / weary / leery
waver / waiver
we’re / were
weak / week
wench / winch
went / gone
wet / whet
whether / weather
who / which / that
who / whom
who’s / whose
wit / whit
wont / won’t
wrangle / wangle
wrapped / rapt
wreath / wreaths / wreathe / wreathes
yea / yeah / yay
yoke / yolk
your / you’re

One of my favorite resources for word usage is:

brians.wsu.edu/common-errors/

 

Coming up!

In our next lesson I’ll tell you how I wrote AND published a book in less than 24 hours, and I’ll give you advice on how to get your book finished and out there for people to read…

Course index and link to next lesson are below

 

Recommended resources and sample books

Yes, these are referral links so there is a danger that I might make money if you click through and purchase…

 

More resources

LibreOffice, a free alternative to Microsoft Word (scroll down for the most recent stable version)

Download GIMP, a free alternative to PhotoShop

AWeber, an email list management service—I’ve experienced excellent customer service from these folks (and, yes, this is a referral link)

How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months

Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Volume 2)

1001 Ways to Market Your Books: For Authors and Publishers, 6th Edition

 

About Dwight Clough

I am a national award-winning writer, published author (20+ books), ghostwriter, and publishing consultant. Since 1983, I have worked on a wide range of writing projects for thousands of enthusiastic clients. I’ve helped clients write, rewrite, and publish their books.

I specialize in Christian inspirational, life story, devotional, educational and leadership books, but I’ve worked on other book projects ranging from microbiology to mental health.

You can reach me here:

 

 

 

 

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