Goodreads asked Mike Mehalek:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Mike Mehalek What took me a long time to learn was that analyzing a book as a reader is a different skill set than analyzing a book as a writer. Sure, there is overlap, but there is a lot that I never would have even considered in a literature class alone. No literature class will tell you this (most people don't realize there is a distinction). For me it took attending Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction Program to understand this skill and to learn how to use it to better my own writing. And with publication being much easier with new technologies, it becomes that much more critical that your writing is sharp. Sure, the gatekeepers are gone, and they kept a lot of fine books off of the shelves (tragically) but they also forced writers to strive for perfection. Strive for perfection. Learning to read as a writer is KEY.

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