tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post5289743418835419530..comments2023-11-02T05:29:57.954-04:00Comments on From the Heart: It's too similar - by Terry BurnsAndy Scheer, Hartline Literaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09010440105558099014noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-91725493432689951362010-02-09T14:14:06.167-05:002010-02-09T14:14:06.167-05:00How can you avoid it? By being more aware of the m...How can you avoid it? By being more aware of the market when you start a work and as you work on it. But even that doesn't preclude the possibility that a number of people are working on the same thing at the same time - no way to know about that until they start trying to come to market.Terry Burnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14526255183090554401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-40155259446056528492010-02-09T14:10:55.637-05:002010-02-09T14:10:55.637-05:00I have indeed. It happens a lot - let's say a ...I have indeed. It happens a lot - let's say a lot of people find themselves motivated by the events in the news to write a thriller, say one full of terrorists and FBI and middle East oil intrigue and the like. By the time they get the book ready to go all of a sudden agents and editors find themselves covered up by a bunch of similar plots because everybody got inspired by the same thing at the same time. I've done that myself, have a number of them laying around. I'm cutting several of them back to be short stories to go into the short work collection I'm working on.Terry Burnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14526255183090554401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-40070365167629443872010-02-09T12:26:47.484-05:002010-02-09T12:26:47.484-05:00Terry: I would like to know if you as a writer hav...Terry: I would like to know if you as a writer have experienced writing a book or proposal, only to discover "It's already been done." <br /><br />How do we as authors avoid spending time on a project that dozens of others may be duplicating? Or, can we?Jeanette Levelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12898750484193832082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-27811806940240088492010-02-09T11:32:26.013-05:002010-02-09T11:32:26.013-05:00Or you can simply take the advice, sit down with t...Or you can simply take the advice, sit down with the manuscript and revise, revise, revise until you find that unique tone.Nikole Hahnhttp://www.thehahnhuntinglodge.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-8843981189363977782010-02-09T09:47:39.083-05:002010-02-09T09:47:39.083-05:00Thanks, Terry for the post! It's always great ...Thanks, Terry for the post! It's always great to learn what agents are thinking.Martha Ramirezhttp://www.martzbookz.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-54347022061166672662010-02-09T08:38:40.714-05:002010-02-09T08:38:40.714-05:00Terry, thank you for the post. It opens up the per...Terry, thank you for the post. It opens up the perspective to see that sometimes as writers we need to broaden our view outside our manuscript that we treat as a first born. Writing is a business. We have to think of our writing more as a career, we're in it for the long haul.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07880519621346027131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443765296489868573.post-27762842207386633192010-02-09T07:58:58.045-05:002010-02-09T07:58:58.045-05:00Thank you, Terry, for reminding us to think with &...Thank you, Terry, for reminding us to think with "a career view!" I have a tendency to focus on my most recently completed manuscript as if it were the sum total and zenith of my output.<br /><br />Sue HarrisonSue Harrisonhttp://www.sueharrison.comnoreply@blogger.com