Goodreads asked Richard McClellan:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Richard McClellan If you want to write a book and publish it, then do it. The good news is that ANYONE can self-publish a book these days. I've spent very little to get my first book published, but I also did a lot of the work myself. It's taken a lot of time and effort to finally achieve it. I've learned a lot.

The downside of the ease of self-publishing is that not everyone is so diligent in creating their books. sometimes it's about the money and not the art. My advice is to learn your craft, Not just the technical stuff--grammar, plot structure, formatting, etc., etc., but also what makes a good story. That means learning from what others have done. That's a double-edged sword, so be wary of acceptiong everything you're told or that you read as the "right" way to do it. I believe in the art lies in the finished product, regardless of how it was created.

Write YOUR story, YOUR way. But don't re-invent the wheel. Writing ois very much an iterative, learn by doing art. And accept that at some piont, it will be done. Accept that it will not be perfect, and hopefully will be inferior to all the other books you will write from then on (hopefully). How can you tell when? Ah, therein lies the secret, one I'm still figuring out.

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