Learning From Other Writers

Group instruction

We should use every resource we have when improving our writing, and one tried and true method is to learn from other authors. As authors, we should be open to both teaching other writers and learning from them if we are to be at the top of our game. And one great thing is that because of the pandemic, we’re able to attend conferences across the country virtually, such as Desert Sleuths in 2020, and training by the Maryland Writers Association and Sisters in Crime.

Why Is This So Important?

I’ve previously mentioned continuing education for writers in this blog, and today is no exception. Many tout the benefits of taking lessons from other writers on a variety of topics. Some of these benefits are obvious, such as tightening their writing, learning how to self-edit and how to pitch their work. But there are other benefits, too. Lifehack lists several benefits of learning from other writers, and while there are some nuts and bolts items among them, they also focus on the mindset of being a writer. All of these—the specific skill development and seeing oneself as a writer with all the responsibilities and characteristics thereof—are important. One of those characteristics is facing some more difficult tasks: not editing or rewriting in this case, but formatting.

Formatting Your Work for Publication

My colleague Liz Cooper is one of the founding members of the St. Mary’s/ Calvert chapter of the Maryland Writers Association. At a recent meeting of the chapter, Liz taught us all about formatting our books for publication. This may sound like a boring or tedious subject. Tedious, perhaps, but certainly valuable. First, Liz reminded us that one of the things editors hate is to see publications that are formatted poorly. Everybody agrees with this. Liz walked us through how she would format her children’s books for publication including margins, spacing, paragraph structure, page size, etc. Again, not exciting in itself, but incredible valuable.

Something Liz emphasized is doing your homework regarding formatting. For example, Liz formatted her book with justified margins, which I don’t tend to see in all genres. The Write Life agrees and suggests that writers should study their genre(s) carefully to ensure that the formatting they choose is genre standard. Because if is isn’t that may work against your book being published or considered as well as poor writing may.

The Bottom Line

All of us who attended Liz’s session left enriched. We saw that formatting isn’t the scary boogeyman we thought it was, and they are lots of tools we as writers can use to demystify the process.

Thanks, Liz.