Goodreads asked Emily Roberson:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Emily Roberson It's so hard because advice that is helpful at one point in your career is really bad at a different point. For example, I think everyone should find really good critique partners, it's been immeasurably helpful to me. But. If you get them at the wrong time or the wrong people, they can kill the spirit of your writing, pour water on your flame, and generally derail you for ages. So - my biggest advice would be to carefully find people to read and comment on your writing. Make sure they are people who already like to read what you want to write. If you want to write romance, the absolute worst person to read your work is someone who hates the genre. Because even if they love you, they won't like your stories, because they don't like what you write, no matter who writes it. For example, I don't enjoy true, gory horror. I'm a terrible reader for it. Therefore, I don't critique it. Also, be very clear about what you need from people. Sometimes I want real critique warts and all, and sometimes, I just want to know that it doesn't suck. Last of all, in general, I would avoid family or close friends. The best thing about my critique partners is that I didn't have a history with them outside of writing, so when they are critiquing what I wrote, we don't have any other backstories to get in the way. They aren't jealous. It has nothing to do with what they wish I wrote, and nothing to do with something that happened in elementary school. We can just get down to the business of helping each other improve.

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