(Skip directly to ten for the fastest shortcut!)
Like any field, excellent writing requires study, practice and mentorship. Very few successful authors ever published their first draft of their first work. Nearly all had to expend considerable effort to improve their craft. Here are some ways to prepare for that moment of publication. These tips also help keep you on your toes after publication for better and better writing results as your career develops.
1) Read, read, read in your field. You can never read too much when you're trying to excel as a writer. Reading in your field helps you develop a discerning eye. You need this discerning eye for when you step back and look at your own work.
2) Cultivate role models. Know who the top-selling authors are in your field. Find out more about them. How did they get to where they are? Do searches in the Internet (available in most libraries-ask your librarian how to use a search engine) for information about particular authors whose careers you admire. Let your role models inspire rather than daunt you. There is no competition, only inspiration, potential teachers and opportunities for cooperation. That author you envy this year may be writing a blurb for your first novel next year.
3) Research your markets. If you want to publish in periodicals, whether literary fiction, journalistic writing, or anything else, realize publication standards serve a purpose other than to frustrate new authors.
4) Take classes. Many cities offer writing classes through community colleges or local writing groups. Online writing classes are popping up everywhere. If possible, choose a writing teacher who has published in a field you'd like to enter. Even better, find someone you already consider a mentor. Not every published author has what it takes to offer beginning writers what they need, but many do.
5) Join or start a writer's group in your area. We teach best what we most need to learn. There is no better way to improve your own writing than to help others with theirs.
6) Find a writing buddy with whom to check in on a regular basis. The two of you can be each others' inspiration, accountability market, guidepost and reality check. Having structure and someone to check in with may help you look forward to your otherwise lonely writing sessions.
7) Play with changing voices. Copy other writers you admire. How does that feel? Pretend you suddenly got an injection of creativity serum or I.Q. booster, then write like mad for ten minutes. What happens to the quality of your words? Is this a possible new direction for you? As creative and intelligent beings, we have so much more within us than we could ever dream.
8) Accept the reality of rewriting. Unlike other professions who get to rest on their milestones, for writers, a completed manuscript often represents a beginning. The best writing comes after lots of rewriting, even for seasoned authors. You needn't throw any of it away, but not every sentence belongs in every work. Save the scraps, but don't get attached to where they go, or the integrity of your project will suffer.
9) Get clear on what you want out of getting published. Many writers move forward without knowing where they want to wind up. As a teacher once told me, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." The answer to what you want out of getting published will help you determine the best route to take. And in publishing, those routes are many and varied. You can use our Twenty Questions as a self-help guide.
10) If what you want is to get published in the least amount of time, considering hiring a ghostwriter. An extremely common but rarely discussed practice, many successful authors talk to ghostwriters, who put their skills to work on an author's behalf. Although some such ghostwriters get a cover credit, many do not, hence the "ghost" terminology. If you have more money than time or inclination to toil, ghostwriting may be the option for you. Learn more
You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided the following is included at the end or beginning:
Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.
To capitalize on ways to make extra income you can... Read More
Freewriting is a release from the prison of rules. It... Read More
Your struggling to sell just a few copies of your... Read More
In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors,... Read More
You have a new website, or a new business, or... Read More
One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day... Read More
When a writer is working on their next literary masterpiece... Read More
Lately I've been noticing an odd trend amongst the freelance... Read More
Self-examination sheds light on a writers motives, goals, and aspirations,... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?You are plotting the story. You write... Read More
Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts,... Read More
So, the decision is final. I am a writer.Actually, I... Read More
Before you even begin writing your novel, you need to... Read More
As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More
Remember the days when we wrote with pen and paper?... Read More
How do you describe a scene without slowing down the... Read More
Did you know that your back cover information is, after... Read More
~TYPES~You Want Us to Write What? Understanding the Task AssignedWhich... Read More
I just finished to read a book. A story for... Read More
If you are an aspiring writer, or you simply want... Read More
Among the various foolproof methods used to boost traffic to... Read More
Good writing is like sex. Two people are involved ?... Read More
If you are looking for copywriter books, you'll want to... Read More
A certified proofreader is one that has taken a few... Read More
You can turn your $200 fee to write a press... Read More
As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More
Arrogance has a bad rap. We think of arrogant people... Read More
List-making is a favorite journaling technique and is often used... Read More
Concision. (Sounds like I made up another word.) It's the... Read More
10 - You will always have a job. As long... Read More
A writer can never be self indulgent whether writing fiction,... Read More
Sailors had it for years. Great explorers had it as... Read More
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More
For several years before I left teaching to write full... Read More
Authors need to write their book according to their target... Read More
There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More
FERRETING OUT WORK You keep hearing that there's work out... Read More
Creating written documents reveals so much about you and your... Read More
Someone once commented that there were no new ideas to... Read More
These are some of the snapshots I carry with me:... Read More
Creating incredible characters can be easy if you know of... Read More
The following answer sounds simplistic?but think about it. The single... Read More
Business etiquette is fundamentally concerned with building relationships founded upon... Read More
What am I going to write about?Which topic is the... Read More
I have added a new word to my vocabulary. Logorrhea.... Read More
Every part of your book can be a sales tool.... Read More
During the years that I've been teaching writing and participating... Read More
Many writers write for the experience. Others dream of having... Read More
Want to write an article or book, but are stuck... Read More
This is the ideal topic for us all to think... Read More
Imagine a three hundred page book was in the author's... Read More
It's easy to feel overwhelmed by marketing. First, there's so... Read More
Questions and answers on writing life experiences for ourselves and... Read More
Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an... Read More
You have a new website, or a new business, or... Read More
Before you even begin writing your novel, you need to... Read More
People can't believe I did it, but I did. I... Read More
Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More
Writers often get stuck because they make assumptions about writing,... Read More
Do you consider yourself a storyteller? Do you consider yourself... Read More
When you read a letter from someone, we are immediately... Read More
There are a lot of tapes and books and CD... Read More
Punctuation, when used creatively, is powerful. Note, however, that when... Read More
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute,... Read More
When we think of writing it triggers many thoughts and... Read More
It is satisfying to be a part of such a... Read More
Writing |