Hello!! Thank you for having me here today. I love connecting with other writers and
readers so this is a true treat!!
I think
the question I’m asked most often is how did I get published. Or, what was my path to publication. How I wish I could tell you I was handed the
secret map and by following it step by step, it led me straight to where I
wanted to be. Alas, no. Sorry.
But through my pursuit of that ever seemingly elusive goal of receiving
“The Call,” I did pick up a few tidbits of wisdom that were of
great
benefit. I hope they will help you, too!
·
Write. Sounds so obvious,
right? But while many of us dream of
being a published author we fail to do the one thing we must: write. It’s not pretty or glamorous for the most
part; it’s a lot of hours sitting in front of your computer or laptop or
notepad mining for the right words. It’s
a lot of hours spent crafting a story that might never sell. Scary stuff there! But here’s the rub: if you don’t write it,
the publisher can’t come. (Terrible spin
on the Field of Dreams quote but I’m sure you get the idea.) And if your book never sells? You will still have accomplished two
incredible things: YOU WROTE A BOOK! How
awesome is that?! And two, by writing
that book, you learned so much about the writing process.
·
Read. Again, sounds obvious. But reading is a key element to writing. Reading keeps your pulse on what is selling;
it also helps teach you the art of writing.
What the author did right…what didn’t work as well for you. Character development. Pacing.
And the list goes on and on. And
don’t just read in the genre you aspire to publish in. Read voracious. Read everything. Read fiction blockbusters, the how-to write
books. The classics. Before I sold, I read every current debut I
could get my hands on. Gobbled them up
as fast as I could. Those debut books
grabbed an agent and/or editor and sold for a reason. I wanted to know why.
·
Invest in your dream. Invest not
only your time (which is extremely valuable) but also invest your hard earned
dollars. I know this bit of advice is
difficult for a lot of us moms to wrap our heads around—spend money on
ourselves even if we don’t see an immediate return—but it wasn’t until I
started doing just that that I started to see positive progress. By my taking my dream seriously enough to
spend money on it, my family began to realize just how important it was. My writing wasn’t just a fun hobby—but a
serious pursuit of a dream. Another
benefit of plunking down those dollars for a workshop or conference or how-to
book? I was going to get the biggest
bang for my buck. The notes I took were
college worthy if I do say so myself and the connections I made with other
writers just like me has been invaluable throughout the years. Also, don’t forget that there are a lot of
ways to obtain these resources for discounted rates. Many times you can volunteer at a conference
that will reduce your fees or you can buy the workshop tapes from the
conference and save the cost of travel and other costs.
·
Another important step in this path to publication is to learn the value of
feedback and revisions. For this step we
need to develop a thicker skin. It’s
very easy to get attached to our “baby” and not want to hear that anything is
wrong with it, but we all know the truth: almost everything can be made better
through revisions/re-envisioning/rethinking.
But (and this is a big but) chose your beta readers/critique partners
well. I count myself extremely fortunate
that I landed with three amazing writers early in my writing days. They were (and are) instrumental to my
success.
·
So now that you’ve written and revised a book, honed your craft through
reading books and attending workshops and conferences, you are itching to send
it out to the world. Or at least a publishing
professional who can get your dream in front of readers. Even among my group of writer friends there
is an ongoing debate as to whether you should get an agent or not. My advice—GET AN AGENT. But like with all the steps along the way,
research, research, research to find that perfect match for you.
While this is
in no means a complete list, I hope it helps you fulfill your dream of becoming
a published author just as it did for me.
And if you have tips you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to drop
me a note through my website (www.KimberlyFisk.net)
or FB (https://www.facebook.com/kimberlyfiskauthor/). Connecting with other writers and readers is
one of the best gifts this career has given me.
About the Author
Her
latest book is the contemporary romance, Boardwalk
Summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment