101 Reasons To Stop Writing

November 30, 2007

Tripped across the blog, 101 Reasons to Stop Writing. Actually, to-date there's only 15 (Bet I could come up with the other 86, no prob), but you might want to check it out here. Or not. I mean, nobody's, like, twisting your arm, y'know?

The Reasons

1. You Don’t Buy Books
   

   If you haven’t taken a chance on a new, unproven author in the last five years, why the hell would you expect anyone else to?

2. You Think Anyone Can Be A Writer
   

3. Putting 50,000 words in nonrandom order in 30 days makes you a ‘writer’ in exactly the same sense that changing a hundred lightbulbs makes you an electrician.

4. Publishing is Dying
   

   If you think “Hey, the average book only sells 500 copies, what’s the point of even trying?”, then I say: Bravo! Stop writing, and you’ll have more time to read books written by people better than you.

5. 
   

6. Addendum: You Think You Can Fix Publishing

   It takes a special kind of arrogance to believe anyone wants to read your work. But if that arrogance extends to thinking everyone in publishing is stupider than you, and your only contribution is unoriginal, unworkable ideas, then you’re just like every other schizophrenic barfly who thinks he’s running for President.