| I have been a writer almost since I learned to | | | | 3. Research your markets. Read the kinds of |
| form a sentence, and my work has been | | | | things you want to write. You want your writing |
| published widely. Family, friends, and students | | | | to both "fit" into that market, and to offer the |
| often want to know - how does the publishing | | | | reader something different or better than what's |
| process work? How can they get published? | | | | already out there. Look at books such as Writer's |
| Here are four "steps" I've come up with to help | | | | Market to learn about new markets - magazines, |
| you get published. I almost hesitate to call them | | | | publishers, etc - which you may not be aware of. |
| "steps" because you will want to work on all four | | | | Don't overlook local markets. Your local magazine |
| throughout your life, and you can work on all four | | | | or newspaper is often an excellent place to start |
| at the same time. So maybe I should call them | | | | getting published, and you are likely to be already |
| the four "quadrants" of getting published. | | | | familiar with the kinds of things they publish. And |
| 1. Improve your writing. This seems | | | | once you have published something locally, it is |
| self-explanatory, yet often people are not sure | | | | easier to break into other markets. |
| how to improve their writing. They know the | | | | 4. Send out to a lot of places. Many new writers |
| rules of grammar and they know how to spell (or | | | | are confused about whether they should send |
| at least, they can use a computerized | | | | their piece to just one magazine or publisher at a |
| spell-checker). What's next? | | | | time, or to many. |
| Most important, perhaps, is to make time to | | | | My advice is to send your work out widely. The |
| write. You can't improve if you never practice! | | | | only exception would be when a particular |
| You don't necessarily require hours and hours per | | | | magazine or publisher has specifically requested |
| day -- a regular 15-minute writing session several | | | | your work and has asked you not to send it to |
| times a week can take you far. The key is to | | | | anyone else until they respond. |
| make your writing sessions regular. | | | | Often, magazines and publishers can take months |
| Another way to improve your writing is to take | | | | to respond. If you sit on your hands and wait for |
| writing classes, or to join or form a writing group. | | | | one rejection before sending the work out again, |
| Ask at the local university or community college | | | | you might be dead before it finally gets published! |
| about writing classes. To form a writing group, try | | | | I did not get my short stories published in literary |
| asking your librarian if she (or he) knows of other | | | | magazines until I started sending each story out |
| local writers, or put flyers up on community | | | | to thirty magazines at a time. Granted, literary |
| bulletin boards, inviting other aspiring writers to | | | | magazines are an unusual breed - there are so |
| join you. | | | | many of them and they all publish very similar |
| 2. Generate a lot of writing. I know of one | | | | kinds of things. If you are writing nonfiction |
| woman who spent years working on the first | | | | articles, for example, you will probably tailor your |
| chapter of a novel. Another woman spent years | | | | writing more closely to a particular kind of |
| working on the text for one picture book. It's | | | | magazine, and then it might make sense to send |
| difficult to get published if you only have one thing | | | | to just one place at a time. But don't wait months |
| to sell! It's like a store with only one item. The | | | | for a response. If you have not heard after a |
| more writing you have, the more likely it is that | | | | month or six weeks, start circulating that piece |
| something will sell. | | | | again. |
| Even if you are not "finished" with one piece you | | | | To help you keep track of your submissions, set |
| can still start another. You might never be | | | | up a chart on your computer. Include information |
| "finished" with that first piece. Apparently | | | | such as the name and contact information of |
| Leonardo da Vinci said that "art is never finished, | | | | each market, any specifics they require (word |
| only abandoned." At some point your writing | | | | length, subject matter, reading dates), your own |
| either gets published and you stop working on it, | | | | submissions and the date you sent them, and the |
| or you get tired of it and stop working on it. So | | | | responses to them. |
| don't be afraid of having two, three or even | | | | The object is to have so much material circulating |
| more writing projects going on at the same time. | | | | out there that any one rejection hurts less. Also, |
| Keep a list of topics on which you might like to | | | | the more material you have circulating, the better |
| write. Go to the library or bookstore, get some | | | | your chances of getting published! |
| books with writing exercises in them, and try | | | | I hope these steps will help you to be successful |
| them out. Engage in free-writing to generate | | | | at writing and publishing. |
| more ideas. | | | | |