A Writer's Greatest Resouce

Skip Press - Author

This is Skip Press the author of (among many many other things) "How to Write What You Want, and Sell What You Write."

    I stumbled upon him and his book at Barnes and Noble at one of my lowest points as an author. I had pretty much given up. Naysayers and the like had convinced me that because I'd had nothing published besides a few poems, despite the fact that I had been writing for nearly a decade, I was a failure as a writer. Many of my writer friends mocked my process; "If you can't just sit down and crank out a manuscript you aren't meant to be a writer." The fact was I could sit down and crank out a full manuscript in 72 strait hours. But I never felt that it was quite good enough for public consumption yet. So despite working on several titles that I felt once done could be, would be great I'd begun to believe them, they seemed to have something I didn't. And truth be told they did - confidence.

    I'd read book after book about writing, publishing, editing, and the creative process. Though they promised insights all they seemed to offer was a vague description of 'how to write' and in the end basically stated; "Now that you've read my book keep in mind that publishers will never give you a chance, editors will have you rewrite until your work looks nothing like how you started, agents are a necessity but will never have time for a no nothing little author like yourself - and even if you manage to make it past those hurtles readers are just too set in their ways to give a new author a second glance." Not exactly the most heartening thing to read after spending days, and sometimes weeks, reading their 'words of wisdom' resulting in one felling more confused than helped. Not a drop of validation existed out there. Or so I thought ...

Current Edition 2011

    Then, browsing for a random something to read I noticed a spine with a simple title, but it was the author's name that caught my eye; Skip Press. It made me giggle; at the time I was working at Disneyland, CA as a Jungle Cruise Skipper. Some of my best writing ideas came on my breaks while working as a "Skip" in the Jungle or at its sister attraction the Enchanted Tiki Room, it felt fateful somehow and for this reason I was compelled to pick up the book. The title "How to Write What You Want, and Sell What You Write," was pretty strait forward plus it was under $10 (a rare price for advice), so what could it hurt? As I'd mentioned before I had dozens of books of a similar nature that had cost me far more, at worst it'd be another book on that shelf. But it wasn't going to be just another book on my shelf. 

    This book would mark the turning point for me as a writer. Only eight pages in, Skip had already answered questions that hundreds of dollars, weeks of research, and years of writing had failed to reveal. By page thirteen I'd teared up several times, it was like finding a precious treasure; knowledge and strength. It became a big part of renewing my faith in my own process and what I was writing. I don't know if I could ever give another writer a gift more amazing than sharing this book with them. 

   I have in fact recommended not only this book (the latest edition published summer 2011) but also Skip's web page with several writer friends who have fallen into similar or worse situations. All of them have since told me that "How to Write What You Want, and Sell What You Write" has helped them tremendously as well, and they are all actively writing again. 

    I hope if you take nothing else away from this blog this is it; every writer's greatest resource.

    ** NOTE ** If you do find Skip on Facebook, please keep in mind that this is a very strongly opinionated man, and where he is a brilliant writer and mentor in that way not all of his opinions reflect my own so please bare that in mind. But the mindset that not everyone is going to agree with you, nor will you agree with everyone else; but that does not mean you cannot learn something from them, is really one you must carry though all of your professional life, and is good for your personal as well.