Goodreads asked Peter Cawdron:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Peter Cawdron My advice to aspiring writers?

Pace yourself and don't let unrealistic expectations get the better of you. We live in an instant society. Instant coffee. Instant TV dinners. Streaming music and videos, etc, it is all just a mouse click away, but writing doesn't work like that. Writing is an art. Writing takes incredible patience and perseverance. Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't be impatient.

You're not in competition with other writers. You're in competition with facebook, twitter, youtube, flappy bird and a bazillion other colourful sparkly games. You're in competition with movies and newspapers. Give them all a good run for their money by producing something that drags people away from those devices and into the pages of your book.

You're going to be criticized, and it won't be easy to take, but learn from that criticism. You can't please everyone, but you want to be open to learn what you can do better, and that means listening to your critics and recognizing the truth in what they say. Sure, there's plenty of trolls. Don't feed them. And yet for every troll there's thousands of readers that want to be entertained, so take heed to their response to your work.

Be professional. Get your work edited. Polish your writing. Never be satisfied with anything less than your best.

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