7 HUGE Mistakes Writers Make (That Hold You Back In Publishing)

Today I'm going over 7 HUGE mistakes writers make that hold them back from a professional writing career/publishing. These are mental roadblocks and novice habits many newer/aspiring/stubborn writers have that keep them from leveling up.

They relate to editing, working with critique partners, holding on to ideas, and fear. The 7th & last one is the most critical, I feel, so don't miss it at 09:57!

If you want to be a professional writer, whether that means to be traditionally published or self-publish well, if you're making any of these mistakes, you need to stop. One you break through some of these barriers, you will level up as a writer and will have a better shot at publishing success!

And fun fact: some of these are mistakes that very successful published writers make, too! (Refusing to be edited is not good for anyone!) And it holds them back from growth--you can always fall into these issues!

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[lizzychrome]

It's good to remind yourself that you can always re-use an idea later, in another scene or book. I have a document all for "deleted scenes" and lines, many of which end up proving useful for other projects.

If you watch movie commentaries, you quickly learn that filmmakers do this all the time. George Lucas wanted a Wookie battle in "Return of the Jedi;" didn't have the budget, so he did the Wookie battle later in "Revenge of the Sith."

Rita Skeeter was first meant to appear at the Leaky Cauldron in the first "Harry Potter" book, but J.K. had to cut her for time constraints. The character made a great debut in Book 4, though.

The first "Blade Runner" movie had an early draft that opened with a Replicant cooking at a pot in a house in the middle of nowhere, and the Blade Runner abruptly killing him; imagine my reaction at the opening scene of the sequel, "Blade Runner 2049."

Basically, removing a character, line or idea from your story does *not* mean losing them forever; it just means they have to sit tight until you can find a story that they do work for.

[nonameless]

"Showing your writing to your family and friends doesn't count because they lie to you. They love you so they lie to you."
TRUTH

[TheWordNrd]

I started laughing maniacally at point #1 because I can't imagine how anyone could think their first draft is perfect. How??? What rock have they been living under?

[k.n.fitzwater]

I had met someone who was #3. I had a bad critique partner long ago (we'll call him Bob) that insisted my crappy 1st draft was PERFECT and was giving me hell for wanting to edit my work. Let's just say, he didn't last too long. Moral of the story: edit your story - it will only get better if you put the work into it.

[KYNGA]

I have the luck of having a langage pro at home... My mom. She had always helped me, and was kind enough not to lie to me if something was not good or boring. Whenever I needed advice, she would giving it to me, or explain how to make a scene better... I never hesitate to tell her that if she thinks it's not good, she *has* to tell me ! She's wonderful and helped me a lot during the past 10 years !

[AndalynneMoore]

Not really related to anything but your makeup looks really nice! <3

[pippaschippers]

I have the problem that when I've got an idea for a book I'm especially enthusiastic about the plot. But when I'm writing I'm just really impatient to write everything that needs to happen before I can write the plot.

[rekconf]

Love this. I took notes. But also, the whole time I was watching this, I kept thinking of the opening scene from Monsters Inc. “Leaving the door open is the worst mistake any employee can make lol

[Mrbluefire]

In regards to #5, it’s ironic that some of the greatest fantasy series went against this idea. Tolkien wrote all of LOTR in a decade, the Wheel of Time took six years to write and Harry Potter took Rowling around that long too.

I mean, I’d imagine this is what the 99% comment is for, but it’s still funny to think about.

[julieswahn]

oh my dear alexa you do inspire so very much. thank you a million times over.. (shallow sidebar: your hair looks its best style-wise here although i really like when you have a deep auburn tone.)

[missmadyreads]

oh god, I can't imagine querying a first draft

[WhiteRabbitMix]

I love your channel! I've been binge-watching a ton of your videos and it has really inspired me to get back into writing. Also, that is the fluffiest orange cat tail I have ever seen!

[UnicornHunterbooks]

#5 so much! I spent my entire time in college writing the same book because I loved it so much, but once I got a different idea, the first book just wasn't as For years, I still kept going back to the same book to re-write it and edit it more, even though I had written (and even published) other things. But just a couple of months ago, after one more major rewrite of that first book, I finally accepted the fact that that book is just never going to be good enough. Time is always better spent just writing a new book if you have another idea.

[claireholliday]

Long time subscriber, and just wanted to chime in say I love the ashy cool-tone blonde!! You pull it off so well

[FrozenGuineaPig]

I needed to hear that 5th one. I recently decided to put my brain baby, that I've been trying to figure out for a couple years now, on the back burner in favor of something else recently and I keep going back and forth on it.
Hopefully I can return to my brain baby in the future.

[twilightgardenspresentatio]

What about writing multiple books at a time? (Maybe I haven’t seen enough of your vids and you’ve covered that)

[darkmoonmana]

I'm SO glad you said it's okay to start something new if the project you're working on feels stagnant. I often do this, but try not to because I feel like I'm giving up.

[lindapenttinen]

What if the first draft was about 10 years ago and you have been rewriting it ever since? I began of writing when I was about 12 something old and much of rewriting after rewriting has been done since. Now I am 20 something old and now I have a feeling the story that has been with me 10 + years is somewhere ready to be writing itself down at least. Lots of new ideas, lots of new inspiration from other books/comics... I am in the right track?

[susyjcobwebs]

Thank you for all the info. i love watching your channel. I have learned so much from you.

[frankiesscifiobsession]

Thanks for the advice. Just wanted to let you know I picked up your book from my local library. Can't wait to read it.