Goodreads asked Susan Elliot Wright:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Susan Elliot Wright Persist! Even in the face of despair and rejection. If you are determined, you can achieve more than you ever dreamed. I approached getting on for 20 agents before receiving to offers of representation in the same week. And my debut novel was rejected by 10 publishers first time round. But I really, really wanted to be a novelist. I went back to the book and tried to look at it as objectively as possible - again (I'd already spent six months rewriting) bearing in mind the feedback I'd had. I made more changes, rewrote the opening, moved things around. Then I got a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster. Even if I hadn't got the deal at that point, there is no way I would have given up. If the book hadn't had so much positive feedback, so many 'we were tempted' responses from publishers, I would have simply started something new. But I knew that it was a good novel that wasn't quite there, and I knew I was prepared to do another major rewrite if necessary. Writing is a craft, and like any other craft, you are not going to be brilliant at it on your first attempts. You need to keep at it, writing and rewriting as many times as is necessary. Also, I'd advise aspiring writers to take a creative writing course or attend a few workshops. You can't be taught talent, but talent is quite a small factor in the process of writing a novel or a story, so you can improve your chances of success enormously by learning techniques and learning how to hone your writerly skills. And you'll meet lots of other lovely aspiring writers!

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