Shaun Robinson: ‘Every No Puts You Closer To a Yes’

By Jason Boog 

The Gracie Awards were held last night in Los Angeles, celebrating “outstanding programming for, by and about women.”

I battled my way through the crowded red carpet, getting some writing advice from two authors at the show. Shaun Robinson took the “Outstanding Host” award last night for her work on Access Hollywood, but she shared some simple advice for writers:

I wrote a book on girls and self-esteem called Exactly as I Am. It’s about giving girls advice about believing in yourself and dreaming big. It’s all about this: Every no brings you closer to a yes. Every no puts you closer to a yes. If one person tells you no, that’s one door. There’s another door that’s going to open.

We also caught up with Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? author and Scandal actor Dan Bucatinsky. He had this advice for aspiring writers:

Know what your point of view is and find a way to express it. Even if nobody’s paying you to do it. That’s the most important thing. If you want to sing, sing and find a venue for it. If you want to write, wake up every day and at least write for 15 minutes a day. Whoever you are, if you have a point of view and you want to have that voice expressed, find a way.

He concluded:

I really believe there is an opportunity for young writers to express themselves and let the Internet be the place for their work to be seen. It wasn’t that way 20 years ago. So it’s exciting.