How to Become a Published Author

Writers do not count the hours needed to reach their goals. The journey becomes a forgotten memory when the goal is reached. Unfortunately, many writers walk this road for years before realizing that publishers are more interested in profits than creativity.

The pleasure returns when we learn how easily a good story can be changed into a marketable story. There is no magic formula. Reading another 'how to' book will not unfold a new secret. A writer only needs to copy successful writers to shorten their journey between creativity and publication. The following are four basics shared by successful authors.

Learn to Write and Write Often

There is no getting around it. If you want to be a published author, you must write every day. As obvious as this rule is, many writers only write occasionally. It takes practice to teach a writer to think in complete sentences. Writing hones our grammar skills, and improves our style. Eventually, we can eliminate most mistakes in the first draft.

A new writer often takes ten drafts to finish a marketable story. Experienced writers can finish the same story in five drafts. Talent and education does not divide these two groups. The only consistent is practice, and daily writing.

Polish the Manuscript

This is the first lesson we learn, and the last technique we understand. Writing a good story is a growing process. We learn new things as we write.

I see this in the manuscripts I critique and edit. In most cases, the last fifty pages of a story are a hundred percent better than the first fifty. This is the result of practice, and application. The author learned to self-edit as they wrote. Authors who do not take the time to learn the art of editing remain blind to common mistakes in their own work.

Editing and Proofreading

Editing is a step by step process that should be handled carefully. My personal editing method requires eight steps. Each is done individually as I work through the manuscript. The Polishing and Proofreading steps are separate from what I consider editing.

Read

If you want to become a published author, then learn what publishers are releasing. No How to book can promise a one size fits all manuscript. Each publisher has their own style, vocabulary, and structure. An experienced author looks for strong similarities between their manuscript and a publisher's recent releases. When they find a close fit by reading new releases, they send that publisher a query. New writers sabotage their efforts by playing submission roulette with the newest publisher's directory.

Fact: Avid readers make the best writers.

I asked several published authors how many times they rewrite before submitting. The answer is a shocking ten to fifteen times. This is revealing, as most new writers submit their first or second draft.

Promote Your Book and Public Relations

The best time to start promoting your book is now. Early promotion has several advantages. It builds a fan base. It helps us overcome the fear of submission and sales, and it changes our attitude. It also sells books.

A positive, professional attitude is invaluable when it is time to submit. Our promotion attempts may start small, like forming a book club at our library, but soon we start seeing ourselves as professionals. This changes us from hopeful wannabes, seeking a publisher's affirmation, to professional authors. When this happens, we do not need publishers with national distribution to earn enough money to write full time. We have enough momentum to drive our own careers forward.

It takes time to learn we can weave these four elements together. The only way to fail is to quit. Everyone starts a career by setting a goal. After choosing a direction, they invest time studying and working to make that goal a reality. Writing is no different. Our goal is much simpler than most people's, to become a successful writer.