Goodreads asked Jo Barney:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Jo Barney In this day and age, don't write expecting fame and fortune. Don't even expect to find an agent or a publisher. Don't necessarily follow the current trends in fiction unless you write romance and can write really fast. Just write what you want to write, as well as you can. Try to remember that a good book is the final effort of several people: the writer, the first readers, the editors and proofreaders, the designers. All will have comments and offer suggestions to change your perfect creation. Listen, reflect, reject, and then, if you decide to go it alone, self-publish and get ready for the second phase of publishing: marketing. In fact, even if you find a publisher, marketing, a lot of it, will become your next job. You can't get around it if you want to sell your book.

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