on Writers Helping Writers:

I cringe at the title of this article, because we all know that writing is an art form, and there are thousands of ways to do it. Yet, I used this title because writers ask me daily if I can take a look at their work and let them know if it’s “any good”. These words come from writers, expressing a very common fear that readers won’t connect with their carefully written work.

I get it. Nobody sets out to write a bad book.

But while I’d love to tell you that whatever you write is perfect the way it is, the truth is that some books are better reads than others. Some books sell thousands, or even millions, and some die on the vine after hitting publish, read by only a handful of friends or family. Over the past decade as I’ve developed my Book Coaching practice, in my spare time I’ve read every bestseller I can get my hands on. That’s right, even the ones that make you scratch your head and say, “how the heck did that book make the list? It breaks every writing rule I’ve ever learned.”