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.
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Just the Facts, Pam
I’m the award-winning author of thirteen sexy and humorous romance novels and am a two-time RITA finalist. I’m also the proud founder and past president of Long Island Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. My current releases are available in electronic form at Smashwords, Kindle Store, Sony Reader Store, Apple’s iBookstore, and other outlets.
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Well said, sis!
Thanks!
Great advice especially #5 give yourself permission to write garbage. I have to learn to do that. When I start to write and it’s not good, I get disgusted to the point that I stop and try again the next day.
The reason I put that one in there is that I tend to do the same thing. I think a lot of writers do. We have high expectations for ourselves. So I make a conscious decision to just WRITE. Later, if it’s trash, I decide whether it’s worth revising. Sometimes it actually turns into gold overnight–not often but it happens. And yeah, sometimes I have to jettison the thing and start again. But it’s all worth doing.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful reminders. It is excellent advice that I wish I’d read a year ago. I’ve been slowly learning the lessons above and I can see the impact on my writing.
Reading work outside your typical genre provides inspiration and makes a writer more well-rounded. Finding a good critique group or honest, knowledgeable beta readers willing to tell you the truth is invaluable.
Thanks so much for the comment, Amara. It’s true, these are things one learns over time–which I guess is true of any creative endeavor.