Giving advice to someone in any business these volatile days is risky—no less in the writing biz. Things have changed drastically since I first put my toe into freelance writing waters, fifteen plus years ago. It’s hard to predict what new condition, improvement, or obstacle will come along tomorrow, let alone a year or two from now. One piece of advice I would give to someone starting out today, though, is related to new developments.

My advice: Don’t be too quick to self-publish.

I’m not saying don’t do it. Just don’t let the ease, affordability, and popularity of self-publishing alone lure you onto the bandwagon. One can feel a certain amount of pressure to get work out there just because it’s easy to do and it seems like everyone is.

• Get advice from those familiar with your work about whether or not it’s ready for prime time.

• Get familiar with the market and what people are reading, so you know whether you  have a commodity people want and will buy.

• Know your goals.

• Count the cost in terms of the whole package including marketing and publicizing.

• Above all, pray about it, and let the peace of God be your heart’s umpire in this – Philippians 4:6,

What advice would you give a new writer?

More advice for newbie writers is found HERE.

After I wrote this post, I came across an interesting article about self-publishing at Writer Unboxed: “The New Class System” by Donald Maass.  More food for thought.