Last week, a group of popular authors sat for a panel at the NYU Center for Publishing’s media panel. The participants include The Guilty author David Baldacci, The Dovekeepers novelist Alice Hoffman, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series creator Jeff Kinney, The Devil in the White City nonfiction writer Erik Larson, and New York Times Book Review editor Pamela Paul (as the moderator).
Throughout the conversation, the writers shared several pieces of advice that could prove useful for aspiring writers. Below, we’ve collected some of their tips—what do you think?
Four Tips Gleaned From the NYU Center for Publishing’s 2016 Media Panel
(1) For the writers who are looking for representation, David Baldacci suggests examining the acknowledgement pages of recently-published popular books written by debut authors. The literary agents who receive these particular thank yous will likely show a willingness to work with first-time authors.
(2) For those with busy lives, Alice Hoffman does think that setting up a schedule to fit in time for writing can be very useful.
(3) For the humorous stories of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Jeff Kinney prefers to start off by writing jokes and then “find the story to hang them on.” He also recommends taking long walks.
(4) For the writers who hope to become professionals in this craft, Erik Larson feels that it’s important to make writing a daily practice. He elaborates that one should forgo the notion to only write when inspiration hits and to treat writing like a job.