I received an e-letter from an aspiring writer this week asking for tips on how to break into print (she's currently a college English major, focused on creative writing).
As I'm often asked for advice from young writers on how to get your feet wet in the sea of publication, I thought I'd reprint my response to her here. Much of it is my personal story. I hope you find something in my tale helpful for your own writing journey. Here was my reply:
I think you're wise to pursue creative writing in college; I
sometimes think if I had, it would have saved me a lot of cramming and learning
the hard way later (I majored in occupational therapy at UF). But I had no way
of knowing I would turn out to be a writer - it was more Papa God's idea than
mine.
I started writing professionally about 10 years ago at age
45 when my youngest chick flew the coop for college and I heard a still, small
voice whisper to my heart (in a dentist's office of all places!) that it was
time to chase the childhood dream He'd put in my heart to write.
I began with magazine articles and with a mentor's help
(mostly to make me NOT look like the amateur I was), was able to get 10 pieces
published that first year. Although the industry has changed dramatically
during the past decade, I still believe it's the best way to go - take small
bites (articles both online and print, blogs, etc) before tackling the whole
enchilada (a book). I'm now blessed with over 130 articles published
internationally, most of them based on personal anecdotes and life lessons
learned. Many of them are laced with humor (I highly recommend this to promote
sales - everybody likes to laugh!).
From magazines, I moved on to a newspaper column (which I
still write 8 years later), kind of a Christian Erma Bombeck slice of life
perspective.
Both of these experiences were crucial to:
1) Pad my resume and provide clips for catching bigger and
better writing gigs (and eventually an agent).
2) Provide experience for writing tight and learning the
ropes.
3) Demonstrate to book publishers that I was a serious
writer, knew my stuff, and that I was worth taking a chance on (publishing and promoting a book is a hefty and risky endeavor).
4) Begin building my platform for a future book career -
growing a readership and establishing my writing voice.
5) Get my name "out there."
My first three books (two YA historical novels and a combo
devo/how-to for writers) were published by a small press. This is another thing
I advocate at my writing workshops: small presses. They will deal with
unagented writers and provide many of the same things larger traditional
presses do, except for large scale book distribution. Since the books are
usually POD (Print On Demand), bookstores won't carry them because they're nonreturnable, but
these days that doesn't matter as much because the bulk of sales are online and
electronic anyway. You don't pay a penny with a small press and end up with a
nice book to show for it. (As opposed to some self-published books with
inferior covers and poor editing.)
It was only after I had three books under my belt that I was
able to land an agent - these days you don't choose them, they choose you, but only if they feel your manuscript is completely ready, sell-able and polished (this means professional editing before submitting a manuscript to either an agent or publisher is an absolute must). As I alluded to earlier, the larger publishing houses only deal with agents. My agent, then, was able to open bigger doors to better contracts. My 14th book will be released this fall.
I'm sure you already know that an excellent resource is the
Christian Writers Market Guide (for inspirational writers) and I highly
recommend combing that highly valuable book for places your work might be a good
fit. All the info you'll need is contained therein - follow submission
guidelines to the letter.
If your writing is solid and of good quality, it's only a
matter of time until you start placing pieces. And periodical publishing brings in a little income while you're learning the ropes (averages 10-20 cents per word, sometimes more).
Another way to add planks to your platform is to become
more visible. Choose something related to your chosen genre that meets a felt
need with the public, develop an expertise and become a speaker. My niche is
quirky women's humor so I developed presentations related to the topics of my
inspirational women's books - stress, self-control, beauty, fear, unconditional
love - and have spoken to more than 100 groups in the past three years. Back
room book sales are usually quite lucrative and the exposure (mostly word of
mouth) really boosts your following.
There's no
magic formula that works for everyone - every writer I know broke in a
different way. But I think the common thread is determination and perseverance
... and continuing to perfect your craft.
I would also recommend a subscription to Writer's Digest or
another trade journal (that's where I learned more about the writing biz than
anywhere else), and to also subscribe to writing blogs of those successful
within your genre. There's quite a lot of good info in the archives of mine
that you would likely find helpful: www.gritfortheoyster-blogspot.com. I'd also
like to invite you to subscribe to my personal blog:
www.deboracoty.blogspot.com to get a flavor for the ongoing process of
connecting with your readers after the books are out.
Go where the decision makers are. Attend
one or two writers conferences each year; do your homework before hand and
prepare queries or one-pagers to pitch to at least three editors face to face
(conferences are the only place you can do this so it's worth the $500 or so it
costs - I've landed many article and/or book deals at conferences).
Even if
they don't think your piece is "ready," they'll give you invaluable
input so that you'll see clearly where you need to go from here and next time
it will be. These are the actual people who make the decisions what to
publish... let them meet you personally and get to know you. Rapport goes a l-o-n-g way in the pub biz.
Realistically, you may not come out of the starting
gate making a living off your writing income. Many or perhaps most of us have
other jobs and write on the side. Some of the fortunate few do well enough to
eventually quit their day jobs and only write, but not most. After a decade
writing professionally, I'm only just now starting to receive royalty checks that
have more than three digits. I never did quit my day job as an occupational
therapist and don't intend to in the near future, although I have been able to
cut my hours back to allow for more writing time.
And a HUGE must: learn to write a killer query. So immensely
important.
Professional writing is truly great fun, although a lot of work. But when those
letters from readers start coming in that thank you for changing their lives
and touching their hearts with Papa God's love, you know it's all worth it.
answering
“Let’s Decom-Stress” reflection questions and journaling. I’m planning
cool contests to give away copies of each one to celebrate their
birthdays, so be sure to subscribe to my blog to find out about all the freebies as the news breaks!
