Abigail Ford asked Melanie Dickerson:

Hi Melanie! I love your work. I was just wondering what advice you had for a young author? I am 17 and have self-published two books, both of which are Christian. I would love to hear some feedback on how to make writing a career! Thank you, and I look forward to continuing to read your books! I love every one that I've read (I've read most of them...;) )

Melanie Dickerson Hi, Abigail! My advice is to never stop working on your craft. Even after writing about 12 books (I've lost count!) I still like to brush up on my writing skills by reading articles on writing by other successful authors and applying their advice and wisdom to my own writing. Never stop growing as a writer. That's number one. Number two is to be business savvy. Decide what your logical next step is to success. Do you want a contract with a big publisher? Then work toward that by honing your writing, writing a great book, and using that great manuscript to get an agent. Do you want more books out in the marketplace? Then write more books. I have other answered questions here on Goodreads where I give advice and list websites and blogs and books where you can get more great advice. I hope this helps! Thanks for writing. Also, most important thing of all: Never give up, because this business can really be discouraging and it can take a long time to really feel like you're succeeding. Keep persevering. Keep writing!!! God bless.

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