The Unpublished’s Writer’s 7 Deadly Sins
On the road to publication, writers will make mistakes. But what are the mistakes you can afford to make versus those you cannot? That’s the question Writer Unboxed tackles in…
On the road to publication, writers will make mistakes. But what are the mistakes you can afford to make versus those you cannot? That's the question Writer Unboxed tackles in their online article, "The Unpubbed Writer's 7 Deadly Sins." See the whole article here.
The 7 Deadly Sins:
- Have a weak concept
- Set no deadlines for yourself
- Team up with a bad critique group
- Rely too much on anyone but yourself
- Fly blind (Don't read books on craft and writing)
- Skip the hard edits
- Quit
Any or all of these spell doom for a writer. Avoid them at all costs.
Writer Unboxed is a great site devoted to genre writing. It has plenty of advice and interviews, and was recently named one of the 101 best Web sites for writers by Writer's Digest in 2007.
By the way, Writer Unboxed will soon publish an interview with my co-worker, Alice Pope, who edits Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market. Keep an eye out for the interview if writing for juveniles is up your alley.

Chuck Sambuchino is a former editor with the Writer's Digest writing community and author of several books, including How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack and Create Your Writer Platform.