writers.com feature:

Advice About Advice

By Paula Guran

Giving advice to writers -- or to those who want to be writers -- is an industry. There's plenty of free advice, but I'm referring to the sort for which the advisor receives some form of compensation. The payment is not always in hard cash -- the pay-off can be in "good will" or attention received that can, theoretically, be turned into profit -- and it may never amount to much. But still, there's an expectation of compensation, even if that expectation is never fulfilled.

Writers on the Net is, of course, in the advice business. Classes and tutoring are forms of advice that we expect to be paid for. We offer "free" advice, too, on our Web site and in this newsletter, sometimes even directly in email. We are really nice folks and like to be helpful, but we also hope that our "free" advice will eventually pay off by attracting you to our services-for-hire. We've even starting publishing books that might be considered "advice"

The most frequently encountered methods of dispensing "commercial" advice are instruction (including seminars and conferences), books, and magazines. Writer's Digest, probably the largest single entity in the writing advice biz, was founded with and continues to profit from these elements. The WD magazine started in 1920, their Writer's Market was first published a year later and more books (about 240 titles according to their online catalog), educational courses, conferences, and (eventually) Web sites followed.

There are hundreds of books that offer writers advice. More than 1000 titles are listed under Reference>Writing>Writing Skills on Amazon.com. There are a couple of dozen major periodicals (some quite specialized) dispensing writing advice and countless classes, courses, conferences and seminars. I can't begin to keep up with how many attempts to provide (for pay) online writing advice and services have been and are being made.

With the possible exception of some agents, I can't think of any single individual -- unlike those who give advice about the law, investing, careers, travel, and how to lose weight and improve your health -- who is getting rich from giving advice to writers. If vast income is your goal, you are not going to achieve it by giving writers advice. Still, when money is involved, the consumer deserves more than good intentions. Let's look at a few ways you can get the most out of the advice you, one way or another, purchase.

BOOKS & PERIODICALS

There are reference books any writer needs(a good dictionary and thesaurus, a style guide, a guide to punctuation). Beyond that, no reading material *about writing* cannot be considered absolutely necessary. There are, however, a lot of good books full of sound advice. The book I review below, from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, is a good example of what to look for in an advice-to-writers book. It's written by experienced professionals, makes no promises, offers practical counsel, and doesn't try to convince you to write. Books and magazines that promise to reveal secrets and yield astonishing results, guarantee success, or promise absolutes (no more rejections), often include some good information, but they also usually contain a lot of not-so-great, sometimes misleading, content. Use common sense and caution.

Tip: Marketing departments and consultants occasionally burden perfectly good advice books with overblown titles ("complete," "everything you need to know"), copy ("indispensable," "the bible of --," "must have"), and punctuation (!). Sedate titles and "quiet" cover copy are never guarantees, but, in general, practical and understated is usually better than hyper-realistic and overstated.

CLASSES & ONE-ON-ONE (Online or Off)

Outside of telling you to take our classes, judging instruction is difficult. Who and what works for one does not always work for another. Overall you might want to look for an instructor with some level of professional accomplishment while realizing successful writers are not always good at teaching and that some of the best teachers are not the most financially successful writers. If you are looking for advice/instruction for a specific type of writing, try to find a teacher with experience in that area.

Stay away from any class -- online or off -- that never mentions who its teacher is. A listing of stellar faculty does not necessarily mean those stars are teaching your class (or that you would want them to).

You certainly needn't pay top dollar to get top instruction, but beware of "bargains." Good teachers, tutors, and editors may be willing to devote the time and skills needed for relative peanuts -- you can *eat* peanuts -- but they won't work for _Styrofoam_ peanuts. Cheap classes may mean they hope to attract a large quantity of students to generate adequate income (the dangers of too many students are obvious) or have no intention of devoting adequate time to instruction and advising.

Read class descriptions carefully and, if any occur to you, ask questions prior to enrolling.

Don't be swayed by high tech online or off. Good advice and good instruction are not really enhanced by a room full of computers with the latest word processing software or custom-designed virtual classrooms and message boards. They probably don't hurt (unless you can't maintain consistent access), but they shouldn't be the basis for making a decision concerning your best alternative.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, and SEMINARS

Most of the advice on classes (above) also applies here. Remember, too, that you may get lost in large gatherings. This can be an advantage if you just want to get a good feel for an event, but it can be disappointing if you are expecting considerable attention.

Realize, too, that some workshops are meant to be an intense experience. You may not be ready or willing to gain from (or survive) the intensity.

CONCLUSION

"All the rest was indefinite, as the soundest advice ever is." -- Herman Melville

Copyright (c) 2004 Writers on the Net. This feature was originally published in "Writers.com," the monthly electronic newsletter of Writers on the Net. This publication may not be reproduced in print or posted elsewhere on the Web or used in any other fashion, in whole or in part, without written permission from Writers on the Net/Writers.com. Subscribe here or by emailing writers@writers.com.

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