A guide to getting published.

“I didn’t go to the right schools, didn’t come from a well-known family, nor was I even remotely connected to a powerful publishing dynasty.”

- Matt Drudge –

Guide to getting published, write high, aim low.

So, you’d like to write a novel, here’s a guide to getting published.

My first guide to getting published – Is to be shrewd. You’ve been shrewd of course?  You have, haven’t you?

You’ve read a book or perhaps taken a course on Creative Writing,

You have a decent word processor installed on your computer

You have a brilliant idea

You’re raring to go. Fame and glory loiter on the horizon ….

99 cents on Kindle

Yet do you really know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it? After the first rush of words, perhaps you waver a little, the story isn’t rolling the way you thought it might … you wobble and falter then maybe come to a stop. You need a little guide to getting published.

The most important quality separating wannabe writers from successful writers, is successful writers don’t know when to give up. This is not to say that if you don’t give up you’ll automatically become the next Stephenie Meyer, but if you do give up, how can you possibly.

Sometimes it isn’t easy to imagine that successful authors agonised for years, insecure and barren. How could those famous writers have ever doubted their talent? But doubt they did. Most people simply don’t understand the haunting uncertainties the majority of authors suffer before landing even a small piece for publication.

Over the years, I’ve been in contact with several published writers, and all of them endured long periods of sterility before finding just limited success. Although discouraging, this apprenticeship is probably the best way forward for artists of any calling. So my first guide to getting published is be prepared to serve your apprenticeship.

A guide to getting published, what about overnight success?

My second guide to getting published – is to come to terms with the fact that success doesn’t often happen overnight.

Okay we’ve all heard reports of overnight success, but singers, writers, or painters who find quick roads to success often don’t understand how they accomplished it. Even if they’re lucky and repeat their achievement, in the end they have to set to and learn their art. Slowly by slowly is the only real way forward.

My first serious attempt at writing was a full length novel of about 130,000 words; a mystery, an elaborate escapade set in Morocco. It was my pride and joy – I imagined I was bouncing towards stardom. My visions crashed of course.

Not one publishing house wanted to look at my precious book. It never saw the light of an editor’s office. I had no credentials you see, and the world of publishing is veiled in ‘Catch 22’. If you have no previous published work, and no folder of lustrous commendations, publishers rarely want to know about you.

I suppose it’s hardly surprising when you think about it. Publishing houses aren’t charities. Publishers are in business to make money. Ask yourself if there’s likely to be more profit from an unknown writer, or an established writer or celebrity  with a ready-made readership? No contest, no contract, sorry.

How do you launch yourself into this closed society?

A guide to getting published, simple solutions – but can it ever be easy…

My third guide to getting published – is to write the century’s most incredible novel and have agents scrambling for their cheque books
My fourth guide to getting published – is to have phenomenal contacts in the business who introduce you to considerate agents
My fifth guide to getting published -  is to marry a publisher or literary agent.

On the other hand, if none of these simple solutions apply to you, my sixth guide to getting published is to consider becoming a hard working writer who gradually establishes a reputation in the literary world.

A guide to getting published, write high aim low

Some time after the disappointment with my novel, I was offered advice – Write High, Aim Low – not low as in quality, but as in small publications with limited distribution. It was one of the best pieces of advice I could have had.

I had been aiming for the sky. What I should have been doing was writing for the sky, but aiming my work at a smaller market.

A guide to getting published, try magazines.

My seventh guide to getting published – is try writing for magazines.

I started writing for free distribution newspapers, and then moved on to writing short stories for magazines. It still took a while to find success but at least I didn’t lose months of work when a story failed. When I had my first acceptance in a national magazine, I was over the moon. Eventually I had a string of stories published in national magazines, and even received fan mail.

It wasn’t just that I had been published; the process of working and conforming to professional publishing standards, honed my writing. I understood a little of why certain pieces worked and others didn’t. I was able to repeat it. I wasn’t successful with every submission by any means. I still had my share of failures, but with each failure, I knew a little more for next time.

Having your name in a small publication is thrilling, but it goes beyond that. The more work you have published, the more likely a larger publishing house will be interested in you. Publishing is a fairly close-knit community; publishers watch other journals quite closely. Success tends to breed success, and an unpretentious beginning can cultivate a major contract.

My eighth guide to getting published -  is take a look at yourself…

Take a pace back and ask yourself if you’re truly ready to write that novel. Novels take a large chunk out of your life, and if they fail – wow, it’s some effort down the drain. Short stories are less demanding on time, they promote a credible reputation, they refine your writing skills, and the thrill of seeing your name in print is pretty damn good even if it isn’t a novel…. Yet!

End of – A guide to getting published -