Do you want me to tell you the secret that people who market to aspiring writers don't want them to know?
It's that THERE IS NO SECRET.
Another day, another offer in my email for aspiring writers (from the same people mentioned in my last two posts), with the usual implication that there are secrets of writing well that you don't know--but you will when you buy their book or course.
Here's part of the latest pitch from Trent Steele, this time for a course about writing for children:
"For years, the world’s greatest writers have followed a SECRET SYSTEM.
It’s a system that enables them to write well – and write QUICKLY.
And YOU don’t know about it!
Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in just 2 weeks. Barbara Cartland wrote each of her books in a quick 5 days.
Yes – THESE writers know the SECRET of WRITING QUICKLY."
In the case of Dickens, the secret is that he was a supremely talented and disciplined writer. In the case of Cartland, it was that she wrote basically the same book over and over.
Writers tend to be open about their methods. I collected much of their advice (including that of Dickens) in my book, Your Creative Writing Masterclass. Many of them wrote extensively about how they worked. I didn't come across any who wanted to keep it a secret.
AND HERE COMES THE HYPE!
Later in the pitch, we come to this:
"Inside 'How to Write a Children's Book in 14 Days' you’ll learn the PRECISE STEPS you need to follow to GUARANTEE a best-selling children’s classic – in under two weeks.
Let us savor that promise for a moment.
They GUARANTEE (their caps)...
that in under two weeks ...
you will write not only a best-selling children's book...
but a classic!
If you believe that, please contact me about a bridge I have for sale.
Then they suggest:
Take a SNEAK PEAK Inside This Amazing New Course!
A book about writing, from people who don't know the difference between peak and peek, how could you go wrong?
