The Secret

I’ve taught countless writing workshops on many topics, and at the heart of all of them is one fundamental question: How do I get (and remain) happily published? Everyone in the biz has his or her answer. Here’s mine.

1. Read all types of fiction, various genres and literary fiction, and analyze what you read. Don’t confine yourself to romance or suspense or paranormal urban shapeshifting or whatever—you don’t learn that way.

2. Join a writers’ organization. That’s where you hone your craft, learn the market, make contacts within the industry, and get the emotional support you need to keep going.

3. Don’t try to adhere to someone else’s way of working. Maybe you do your best writing at 3am. In crayon on toilet paper. While cleaning out the gerbil cage. Pantser, plotter, it’s all good. Every writer must discover what works for him or her. It’s a very personal experience.

4. Be willing to learn from others, both your favorite authors and your writer buddies. No, don’t just yes me, really do it! I’ve seen mediocre writers improve dramatically and get published by taking critiques to heart and doggedly studying their craft. I’ve also seen gifted writers who were too arrogant to learn from others and whose best work is holding up table legs.

5. Give yourself permission to write garbage. Yeah, I’m talking to you! Don’t be such a damn perfectionist. No, this does not mean you pack up your garbage with an SASE and send it off to your dream agent. It means don’t expect instant brilliance. You’ve got to flex the writing muscles. It’s a process.

6. It’s become a popular meme, but that doesn’t make it any less true: Talent. Persistence. Luck. Pick any two.