If You Want To Idolise An Author... Don't Pick A Dead One.

Tip #2

 Do not place a photograph of your ­favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide. -Roddy Doyle

 This is one of my favourite quotes when it comes to writing tips. Every writer chose to embark on this path after falling in love with another's work - and you will soon find that it's essentially our job to re-write what has already been written. Whether it be plots (there's only seven basic plots), characters (the stock characters will always reappear) or setting (there's only so many ways an author can make the London Underground unique).

Writing is like a jigsaw - all the pieces have been chewed, spat out and trodden on... but those lucky few can put all the pieces back together and create something that was never there before.

Similarly, it's great to idolise an author, but you must remember that they achieved their success through a means of luck, talent and a unique view of the world - and your pathway to published will be completely different... and so will your writing.

It's also worth mentioning that many authors, whose work is read all over the world, published their stories in a completely different time with different rules and readership. We live in an intensely competitive society, and even if it took Beatrix Potter less than a year to see her idea on a bookshop shelf... we don't live like that anymore. 

On average, it will take six months for an agent to take you on and approach different publishers. If a publishing house agree, they have to look at editing, marketing and figure out the best way to sell your book - roughly around 15 months. Realistically, you're looking at close to two years from having a completed manuscript to it being ready to go on sale.

And taking it back to the quote - there is an extraordinary amount of authors/poets who have let the stress get to them. Writing is supposed to be fun. It's an escape from everyday life and allows you to explore the adventures that you've been quietly playing in your mind. 

Remember, have fun.