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What are some tips and ideas for new authors? What if they have no formal training or degree's in the field? Can just everyday people write their thoughts, feelings, perspectives, research, or ideas and be successful? Or does it take experience, ghost writers, and alot of money?

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Apparently, there are lots of reasons why people write. I might sound hypocrite if i say money didn't count but i hope this is not the main purpose. I write because of my passion towards art and this serves as the wheel that turns for me to go far.
There's a link to a good vlog on this topic on this site, but being new I can't quite put my finger on where. To summarize it, formal schooling is an immense help because every advantage you can have helps you, and college courses give you an advantage. But there are plenty of writers who are very good writers without that advantage.

As for me, I'm what I call "self-educated". I graduated high school and all that, but all of my education since has been on my own. It wasn't my choice; it's just how life went for me. But I've got a story I'm dying to tell, and I think I might just be talented enough to have a shot at 'making it' as a writer. I'm not going to allow a lack of 'formal' secondary education become an insurmountable hurdle, and I don't think anyone else should accept that as a hard limitation, either.

As for tips, one of the most important tips I had to learn was to be VERY careful about how much I allow myself to revise and edit my initial draft. A little bit is fine, but it's easy to get so lost in editing your draft as you write it that your productivity soon plummets once you have more than a few chapters under your belt. You just have to be very circumspect about editing that initial draft. Do just enough to allow you to continue and resist that urge to 'tweak' it to perfection. Succumbing to that urge paralyzes new writers. (I lost about 6 to 9 months of productive time before I knew better.)
are you referring to this one, Tristan? http://www.authors.com/video/do-you-need-university

They are all under Videos. The link is under the black header.

William "Tristan" Berry said:
There's a link to a good vlog on this topic on this site, but being new I can't quite put my finger on where. To summarize it, formal schooling is an immense help because every advantage you can have helps you, and college courses give you an advantage. But there are plenty of writers who are very good writers without that advantage.
That's the one. Thanks. :-)

That doesn't sound hypocritical at all, alpinetandugon. Until we can live on ink and not bread though, I'll be taking the cash too.  ;)

alpinetandugon said:

Apparently, there are lots of reasons why people write. I might sound hypocrite if i say money didn't count but i hope this is not the main purpose. I write because of my passion towards art and this serves as the wheel that turns for me to go far.

Alpinetandugon, there's nothing shameful about a desire for commercial success, and having that desire doesn't compromise your passion towards art. Speaking for myself, I have a story inside me (and maybe only one) that I've just got to get written. If I don't find a way to bring it to life it will just tear me up. But you can bet that if I go through this agonizing process of torturing this thing out of my head I sure as hell want it to be worth something more than just a sense of accomplishment.

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