Listen Only To The Muse, Writers!
Publishing 101 for Family and Friends
Often, some of the biggest challenges an author faces aren’t from the crazy publishing industry but from their very own nearest and dearest — their family, friends, and other well-meaning folks who don’t realize that their uninformed comments and suggestions are not only counter-productive, but add even more pressure to an already stressful creative and logistical journey.
An excellent column.
I did a short story ages ago. Passed it around to people I knew.
Turned out being an IQ Test of sorts. The changes/suggestions they made were right out of TV and movies: the most cliche drivel. I never expected it of them.
Now, I’d only let another writer read my stuff.
— via Twitter from BookMarketer
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Mike Cane 2008 
December 1, 2008 at 5:34 pm
yes. listen only to THY muse, writers. that’s very good advice.
December 1, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Not only writers, but film makers, musicians, software developers, designers of all kinds, chefs and anybody else in pretty much any field. Sometimes you may be able to gain insights of what doesn’t work by observing your audience (not sure this is so much the case with writers though), but they will never be able to give you advice. And I’d be worried if they could. You’ve spent a long time honing your craft, so why would we believe someone who hasn’t trained themselves would be able to give us any useful advice?