You are what you read: reading to write well, think well, and have something to say

The old adage, “You are what you eat,” contains many grams of truth for weighing physical health, but when it comes to healthy thinking and the development of writing skill, you are what you read or don’t read.

Think, for example, of the books that have influenced you in some way. Chances are, you would not be a writer if you had never read a book, but writer or not, the books you loved during childhood, teen years, and last week have shaped your mental outlook and, very probably, your character. That’s power!

So let’s think about books that made us think and make us thinkers.

If you’re a guy, some of your choices most likely differ from mine, but as a young reader, The Secret Garden showed me the healing power of honesty and persistent love, while Anne of Green Gables encouraged belief in a creative voice and spirit. Almost before memory, though, The Little Engine That Could laid the tracks for those later books to carry strong beliefs in caring, persistence, and faith. Later still, such inspirational novels as The Robe and Christy put similar values into the forefront of my forehead.

Before we even begin to read by ourselves, book choices shape our thoughts.

Books continue to shape the well-read life.

Books also help us to develop as writers.

From childhood on, the King James Version of the Bible shaped my thinking, first for the content, which I better understood in the many newer translations that followed, but also for the poetry and musicality that still make me want to go for a poetic flow even in writing nonfiction.

To develop my writing skill on purpose, however, my initial choices came from books published by Writers Digest. Their magazine and also Poets & Writers continued to supply useful information and ideas as has my long-time membership in Writers-Editors.com. 

Hopefully, you will gain some useful information about writing on this blog and about poetry on the Poetry Editor & Poetry blog. Such resources help writers in general, but our book choices show our individuality as we become what we read. So, let's:

Read ourselves well before choosing books to read.

My writings, for example, went from inspirational romances and devotionals to a picture book for preschoolers and life-health encyclopedias for college students. Sounds nice, but the fun of writing about all sorts of topics in all sorts of genres did not win a consistent readership nor help me to develop a voice that can be heard above the crowd.

Our books influence readers who stop to listen.

Our books help readers become what they read.

Our books also give us what we most want to read.

For years, I devoured novels, but I rarely read them now, so, for now anyway, I no longer write them. Thanks to my grands, I still read children’s books, especially well-written picture books, and I still like to write them. Most often though, I read stacks of poetry and every reputable translation of the Bible, which I also review on the Bible Reviewer blog.

As I put together my love of the Bible and of poetry, I asked myself this question, which may help you to read yourself well too:

What book(s) will be most likely to help me at this particular time in my writing life?

For example, my response led me into studying a classic that combines my particular interests: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. I read it years ago but did not get the literary references, spiritual themes, or political purpose of that book, which is primarily a treatise on the separation of church and state – a division that had not been fully realized in the early 1300's.

When Dante wrote his book, the current title had not been accepted. He did not call his manuscript “divine” since that might have been presumptuous enough to land him in a low level of Purgatory! Within a couple of centuries, however, readers added the word, but the original title was simply The Comedy, which has nothing to do with the comedic laughter of today but, rather, means the opposite of a tragic tale. To define quickly:

A tragedy is a story that starts well but ends badly.

A comedy is a story that starts badly but has a happy ending.

To keep my reading of this classical work from being tragic, I needed help! When I previously read the slender volume, I had somehow missed the heft of its meaning. So to help me “get it” this time, I ordered all three volumes with contemporary free verse translations by Robert M. Durling and heavy-duty footnotes and articles by him and Ronald L. Martinez. Yes, it's a little intimidating – okay, a lot. But reaching the half-way mark has gave me a larger view than I would have noticed on my own, helping me to reassess my biblical values, poetry, and life.

Undoubtedly, my choice of reading material will help to shape my thinking and my approach to future writing projects. And, isn’t it best to think about and assess our dearest beliefs before we sit down to write? It’s not that we want to tell people how to think or what to feel, but our clarified thoughts and beliefs help readers better clarify their own priorities as they continue to become what they read.

(c) 2011 and 2019 revision by Mary Harwell Sayler, poet-writer


The Divine Comedy of Dante, Vol. 1, paperback



Purgatorio, Dante, Vol. 2, paperback



Paradiso, Dante, Vol. 3, paperback



Dante, three-volume set, hardback

Writing Winner Nonfiction For Kids

Each year I judged entries in the children’s literature category of an international writing contest I kept hoping to find well-written nonfiction articles or interesting chapters excerpted from dynamic nonfiction books. Some actually did arrive, while others seem promising before descending into a central set of flaws.

In an obvious effort to be fresh and lively, many writers started their nonfiction for children with scenes from a novel. For example, they might begin with dialogue, a problem, a child’s thoughts, or an amusing conversation that reads like the opening of a sit-com. Often, a main character asks a grandparent about a subject soon to be addressed but, unfortunately, not nearly soon enough. These novel openings sound good at first but quickly bring confusion since readers will rarely be able to tell what the book is about until they read a page or two or three.

Another problem arises with credibility and accuracy – or the lack thereof. With no bibliography to cite sources at the end of a manuscript, no one knows if the author has spent weeks searching, sorting, and sifting through reliable information or just passed along personal opinions and assumptions as fact.

A more common flaw occurs in the quality of the writing. For instance, passive voice seems particularly prevalent as illustrated by circling phrase after phrase that states, “It is” or “There was.” Such a passive voice usually comes across as a passive writer, who did not take time to search for active verbs and strong nouns that readers can readily picture.

Speaking of pictures, young readers need to be able to envision what they’re reading whether the pages contain illustrations or not. For the writing to be this clear, each sentence usually needs an easy-to-picture noun that brings to mind a person, place, or thing, but not a vague idea. An active verb can then put that noun into motion. If the nonfiction manuscript happens to be the text for a children’s picture book, those mental images on every page become vital or, voila, no picture book.

That seems obvious, but, fortunately, so do solutions to each of the problems mentioned. Most writers have fine minds and can figure these things out for themselves once they recognize a problem or even know to look for one. What often happens, though, is that we get caught up in stories we can’t wait to share with our kids or grandkids, forgetting that children can not follow unless we remember they’re right there beside us, waiting for the next picture, the next thought, the next word they can easily connect with, enjoy, and understand.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.



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Getting Published In Your Own Sweet Time

Recently an editor returned a manuscript I’m sure needs to see print, so this did not make me happy. Since I’d already gone onto other projects, I then had to backtrack a bit to look for another potential publisher, which takes time – sometimes years! As much as I hate to admit it though, this can be for the best.

To give you an example, some children’s novels I wrote when my kids were growing up are just now getting ready for my young grandchildren. When the manuscripts didn’t place right away, I stuck them in a file cabinet and went on to write other books that were eventually accepted by traditional publishing houses. In fact, I forgot about those stories until my grade-school granddaughter asked, “Do you have any more books for me?” For her? Anything! So I got out the old file folders, and, together, we went through them.

Amazingly, she knew exactly what worked and what did not! Equally impressive, she was not afraid to tell me so. (Oh, what an ideal reader!) We agreed that one unfixable picture book text forever belongs in a file drawer, but two novels for middle-grade readers really do need to be published. Why? Young readers will welcome the stories and relate.

So, now what? My next step will be to check book titles and topics in Internet bookstores to make sure no one has already picked what I’ve chosen. I’ll look at writers’ guidelines on publishers’ websites, too, and see who’s open to this particular type of book.

If I find a book-line that’s similar to my work, that company will rank high on my list of potential publishers. If the manuscript comes back with a no, I’ll just try to keep company with the next good company on my list.

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(c) 2010, Mary Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Self-Publishing Versus Traditional

Self-publishing has some obvious perks:

Freedom to publish whatever you want whenever you want

Artistic control over the length, layout, and cover of your book

Immediate income for each book you sell

Some flexibility in the book pricing

Not so obvious are the draw-backs. As the sole producer of your book, you have more freedom and control but also more responsibilities such as:

Researching book-buying markets to see if your book fills a need

Writing and revising your manuscript without editorial feedback or assistance

Correcting mistakes in grammar, spelling, and syntax

Typesetting your manuscript to provide the printer with camera-ready copy

Applying for an ISBN Number and paying fees required to copyright the book

Locating artwork to illustrate the book's content and cover

Paying for the artwork

Deciding on quality of paper, font style/size, type of cover

Deciding on the press run and paying the printing costs

Marketing the book

Promoting the book

Requesting book reviews

Trying to interest newspapers, magazines, and talk shows in interviewing you

Promoting the book

Promoting the book....

If you have a super-hot topic that has not been addressed, your book might generate interest fairly quickly. Since this seldom happens, you might be stuck with boxes of books that you paid to have printed.

By contrast a traditional publisher handles all of the above responsibilities with the exception of researching and writing the book. If the book does not do well, the publisher bears those costs, not you. If you receive an advance, you do not have to pay that back unless you fail to complete the book as promised.

A traditional publisher takes on the time and expense of editing, proofing, printing, and marketing your book. Therefore, you can be sure the company will put forth professional efforts to be sure you have a lively, interesting, well-written manuscript that readers will be eager to buy.

If, however, you have a ready market waiting for your work or you decide to go ahead and self-publish, please get a professional critique before you typeset your material. I've been critiquing poems and manuscripts for 30 years and will be glad to work with you - for a reasonable fee, of course:)

(c) 2009, Mary Harwell Sayler

How To Get Published

Whether you feel drawn to writing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or children's books, you eventually might want your work to be published by someone other than yourself, but how do you go about it? 

Here are some tips on submitting your work to potential publishers:

• Notice the publishers of books or magazines that you enjoy reading.
• Do these publishers have a website? If so, study the titles in their book lines and the poems or magazine articles in their archives.
• Make a list of publishers whose work seems most in line with yours.
• Study and carefully follow the writers' guidelines on each company's website.
• Submit your complete manuscript or batch of 3-5 poems to one editor at a time.
• Keep track of where and when you sent your work. If you do not have a response in a few months, follow-up.
• While you wait to hear about one manuscript, start another.
• If the editor sends back your submission, read it aloud. Listen for any rough spots. Revise as needed, then submit your poems or manuscript to the next potential publisher on your list.

(c) 2009, Mary Harwell Sayler; updated 2021