I have recently begun following the prolific, multi-genre fiction author, Dean Wesley Smith, very closely.

Any writer serious about playing the long game of indie publishing should visit his site here for some guidance on growing and sustaining your career (read, legacy).

A recent blog post of his really lit a fire under my ass, entitled Some Basics About Writing that I Believe, which can be found here: https://deanwesleysmith.com/some-basics-about-writing-that-i-believe/

I wanted to share some of his no BS, bullet-pointed, kick-in-the-rear advice, with a few of my own thoughts:

1. Concerning What You Should Write

I do not believe that anyone, for any reason, should tell another person what to write in their fiction.

No one tries to tell me on fear of death, so this is not a problem that I face, but poor early stage writers are constantly bombarded by how they should write to market and so on and so on…  I have told a lot of writers over the years to grow a backbone and write what they want.

My thoughts:

Virtually every modern writing “guru” I’ve paid attention to in the last 5 years has said that if you want to make money as an author, you’ve got to get over seeing yourself as an “artist” and write to market.

This means following formulas and integrating expected genre tropes in your writing that result in readily digestible rations for book consumers of a given market (e.g., romance, urban fantasy, young adult, etcetera).

While this advice leads a new writer down a path that is well-trodden and proven to yield at least some level of success, they end up saturating the world of books with the same old crap, story after story.

What’s worse, the author can become disenchanted with the drivel they have to pump out to survive in their “dream job”—and might even be able to make more money working at Costco, after you crunch all the numbers.

My opinion of the whole write to market idea intersects nicely with Smith’s; absolutely write whatever you want but be aware that some art is so esoteric it is lost on most people, so set expectations accordingly.

However, if you constrain your creative output, the world might just be missing out on something truly unique and inspiring. So, there must be a certain balance in place.

My own work doesn’t fit squarely within a single genre, blending elements of horror, fantasy, mystery, and thriller, yet it can successfully cross markets, appealing to people who like the atmosphere and dread of Gothic Horror as well as those who appreciate a good, multiplexed mystery.

You can absolutely appeal to market without writing to market, you just have to write interesting stories with some level of coherency. You do not need to work within the rigid framework of some genre or another.

2. Against Sloppy Writing

I do not believe that anyone should write sloppy.

You know the stupidity, “Get it down and fix it later.” Just lazy, sloppy writing that kills creative voice.

My thoughts:

Obviously, don’t just sling shit onto the page and expect magical things to result. As the computer nerds always say: garbage in, garbage out.

Perfect your craft, be self-critical, and push your skills to excellence as far as you can without destroying your love for the process.

Smith’s comment also makes a lot of sense in the context of his preferred method of writing, called “cycling”, that he uses for essentially a polished, single draft manuscript.

In a nutshell, during a writing session, Smith writes with intent and in creative flow, putting the story down as best as possible. The next session, he cycles back a few hundred words, tidies up bits from the last session with a fresh set of eyes until he reaches the point where he left off, and then drives forward.

Rinse and repeat.

I myself have been using this, and it works really well for my way of working. I have seen the most progress out of every method I’ve tried, including “word targets” (e.g., 2000 words per day). What’s more, I’m astonished that when it’s time to go back for a proofread once the story is complete, there really is very little that needs correcting.

3. On Rewriting a Manuscript

I do not believe that anyone should rewrite.

One draft, doing the best you can, and then release and move on to the next story. It really is that simple.

My thoughts:

Again, using the cycling method described above, you really can produce a publishable work in one “draft”.

But what if you have a different style?

What Smith is getting at here, is not to publish your very first draft without looking at it ever again and just blasting it out there into the world.

Finish the first draft, go back and edit on the read through where it is really needed, but do not “rewrite”, which means no second-guessing plot points and elements of the story as it unfolds.

Rewriting can strangle the life out of the original creative spirit you captured. Trust your creative instinct, get the first draft down, and clean it up as though it were a fragile archaeological specimen you’ve uncovered, being careful not to break it with heavy-handedness.

4. On Others Editing His Own Works

I do not believe that anyone should ever touch one of my stories.

Period. Always fighting this one personally. Seems after 50 years people still do not think I know what I am doing.

My thoughts:

You should break yourself of the habit of wanting to rewrite a story, and you should also prohibit anyone else from rewriting it.

Even critique partnering is kind of a risky affair, as you may find your author friend begins to inject too much of themselves into your work. It’s fair to have some pointed feedback on things like logic, consistency, believability, or flow, but be weary of letting another writer hijack your keyboard.

Again, this is all about preserving that precious core of unique creativity that you have brought to the work, the element which will be the decisive factor in your writing journey.

5. Others Reading Your Work in Progress

No one should ever allow anyone to read a work in progress for any reason.

Group think is never as good as your own creative voice and this kills creative voice. Believe in your own writing and voice and learn to trust it.

My thoughts:

Push through your story to completion before ever letting anyone lay eyes on it.

In my early years, when I had very little confidence in my abilities, I would let a friend or relative read a couple of chapters of a story I was working on. Inevitably, they would make some remark or share some impression that would sway the direction in which I was planning to take the subsequent chapters—the direction my creative voice was beckoning me down.

Needless to say, these books were doomed, as my creative voice was snuffed out and I found myself unable to move forward with the story without the opinions of others burdening me. Essentially, my creative flow became clogged, and my connection to the magical ether was severed.

6. Beta Readers

I think the idea of Beta Readers might be the stupidest, funniest, and most damaging thing that has come along in Indie publishing.

Just based in fear.

My thoughts:

I have considered this idea quite a bit and reached a similar conclusion.

Here’s a thought experiment:

Let’s say you find a group of Beta Readers through some cesspit like Reddit, have them read your first draft, and perhaps 3 out of 5 of them give useful, actionable feedback. You rewrite based on this feedback, resubmit the manuscript to the group, and get thumbs up all the way around. You now have a maximum of 5 people who have validated your work.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Now, what if you give this revised manuscript to a new group of Beta Readers? You find that after a round of reading, maybe 2 out of 5 of them think what you’ve done is any good!

What gives?

You get fresh feedback, rewrite once again, and resubmit. Now, Beta Reader Group #2 is satisfied after you bent your manuscript to their will, but what about Beta Reader group #1? Didn’t you just change what they considered to be good?

Which group has the “correct” assessment of your work?

The answer is neither, because we’re talking about a handful of people here, and as the old axiom goes, opinions are like buttholes (i.e., everyone has one and having one doesn’t make you remarkable).

What beta-reading opens up is a loop of validation seeking that could feasibly never end.

Therefore, Smith is 100% on the nose with his blunt assessment—this is fearful behavior by those who lack confidence in their creative voice.

I think if you’re brand new to the craft of writing in a general sense, it can help to get a trustworthy reader with eyes on your writing as you find your way.

In On Writing, Stephen King explains the role of such a trustworthy reader (what he calls the Ideal Reader):

“The IR [Ideal Reader] is the person for whom you write, the one who understands your writing best and will tell you the truth about it. If you’re lucky, your IR will be someone whose opinion you respect and whose tastes are similar to your own.”

In his case, his wife Tabitha is his go-to ideal reader; If Tabby gives the thumbs up, then Steve is happy and moves on. Find an ideal reader if you need to field test your writing, or simply slag off on the idea altogether and be an unstoppable force of nature like Dean Wesley Smith.

What’s more, with relying on beta-reading, you are not allowing yourself to develop the damn-the-torpedo confidence you need to be successful. You’re also allowing too many cooks in the kitchen, each one adding a dash of this or a dash of that, until your unique, gourmet stew becomes a muddled pot of muck.

Which leads to Smith’s next point about fearfulness in the novice writer.

7. Fears Associated with Writing

And on that note, I have yet to figure out what any person is afraid of in fiction writing.

I have heard all the fear excuses a thousand times, still can’t figure out that fear. Standing in front of someone with a gun can cause fear. Sitting alone in a room making up stories is just not a fearful thing.

My thoughts:

Again, a simple, effective throat-punch piece of advice.

What you fear as an author, and as a human being, is simply rejection.

It’s natural to fear rejection, but if you’re going to survive as an author, ya gotta get tough.

Rejection may take the form of a one-star review, a pompous dismissal by some lame book critic, or a snide comment on social media.

But you have to realize that you can’t make everyone happy. If you’re honest and take a position on anything, you will by default be diametrically opposed to some other group of people—it’s like, a scientific fact, man.

So, own your creations, own your voice, and own your beliefs.

Sure, there can be some actually scary consequences to the words you type.

J.K. Rowling gets death threats in the mail as frequently as Costco coupon books, simply for writing Twitter/X posts standing up for the rights of biological women. On the more extreme end, Salman Rushdie lost an eye after having a fatwa placed on him for his criticisms of Islam in The Satanic Verses.

These are exceptional cases, however.

The worst that 99.9% of us indie authors will encounter is a lackluster review on Amazon or Goodreads, or perhaps some pompous literary critic lambasts our work in a book review with pretentious vocab like pedestrian, turgid, pedantic, puerile, sophomoric, overwrought, and insipid.

It really isn’t that scary.

And if you’re legit worried about stalkers, assassins, cancel cultists, or religious zealots coming for you because your words made them big mad, buy a large dog, take some Muay Thai classes at your local gym, and learn to shoot a gun from a qualified firearms instructor.

Don’t be a wuss—your legacy depends on it!

Closing Thoughts

What typically stops anyone from achieving their goals is simply fear.

Fear is at the root of validation seeking, a lack of confidence, over-thinking, and allowing the inspiration that stems from your very soul to be seized upon and perverted beyond recognition by the criticisms of others.

Smith’s advice here isn’t just a bunch of horseshit cobbled together and thrown in a $2,000 dollar master class or something, it forms the modus operandi by which he writes. With hundreds of books under his belt, I’d say he most likely knows what he’s talking about.

I hope you have found this inspiring as I have!

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.