Merry meet all,
Today’s post is about my advice in getting your writing published. I have a novella published and so I want to share my experience and knowledge with you. First I want to say that Wicked Shadow Press has published my 12th flash fiction story, The Uninvited, in their anthology, Exorcists of the Dead: Diabolique. I want to buy the two anthologies and I can’t wait to read the stories. I bet they will make my spine shiver and keep me awake at night.
I improve my own writing by reading what others have written. I believe it will be easier for me to pen a possession story if I see what scares and horrors were dreamed up by my fellow writers.
I want to share personal experiences about publishing with you today, dear readers. Think of this as a – what you do and don’t do – to get published. During my career, I have had many wonderful experiences in working with editors and been shown amazing support from fellow writers, even when they were more successful than me. I wish the same for you, my dear readers. I have also had a few negative experiences too. But it has all been mostly good. That’s what counts.
The tips for getting published 101:
- Send your very very best writing. You get 1 opportunity to impress an editor, publisher or literary agent. One. Even if you are under contract, the author is expected to do 99% of the editing work. They will guide you along the way, but never expect them to do all the work. That is unrealistic. Do your very best. Get help from a friendly fellow writer or find a trusted circle of beta readers.
- Do not go alone in your writing career. They always say, it takes a village. It’s true. Having a circle of supportive writers that you help and that equally help you is the best thing you can do for yourself. I’m a member of the Horror Writers Association and I love it. I love all the amazing support I receive.
- Learn how to proofread, edit and do revisions on your own. Brush up on your grammar and proofreading skills. Learn how to do a developmental revision on your own too. Writers who can competently perform their own edits are given more attention to and possibly contracts than those who are sloppy and never make any effort. Buy a grammar book or two and practice on yourself or someone else’s writing.
- Learning how to do your own developmental edit on your writing will save you thousands of dollars in the future. You have to learn what your writing and stories need. You have to be your best own harsh jduge, a merciless judge of your own writing. I said that you have only one chance to ever impress an editor. Make it count. Make it count by pushing yourself to be the best you can be and your writing by not submitting a manuscript before it’s ready. You will know when it’s ready. You have to be willing to make mistakes, learn from them and improve on your own. That’s when you are getting somewhere as a writer.
- If you won’t take it seriously, neither will they. They will champion you if you are willing to go above and beyond what you thought was your very best. They receive manuscripts from thousands of hopefuls. In order to stand out with an ORIGINAL story, (more on that soon), you have to professional and confident and know that you have put all the required hard work in. They will too.
- This is not meant to discourage you from writing. This is meant to push you to succeed.
- If you are ever lucky enough to snag a publishing contract – and I hope that come true for my readers, do not nag or harass the editors. You are not the only author out there. They have a million things to do and they are very busy people. If they love your story, they will be in touch. While you wait for your book to be produced, write another book, poem, story or play. Keep reading, keep improving your writing and keep trying.
- Write the first draft with abandon. That is the creative process. Writing the first draft -when you can dream and be messy. You are free to get it all out on paper. Publishing is a business. During the revisions and editing stage, you polish the manuscript. During the early revisions, you can still be messy and creative, even rewrite the drafts a few times, maybe fifity times. But when you are getting it ready for publication, you have to cast a cold eye on your story, novel or screenplay. That is when you write and edit for readers. When I wrote the first early drafts of The Cult of the Spider People, a lot was edited out of the book with the generous aid of Stephanie Ellis. By the time it was published, I no longer recognized my manuscript. Fifteen pages of the characters just standing there and talking was omitted and reworked. Edit, edit, and edit some more.
- There is a huge difference between when you falsely believe your mauscript is ready and when it actually is. Sending your ms out before it’s ready is what gets you rejection letters. Be open to getting rejection letters. I have twelve flash fiction stories published by Wicked Shadow Press. I know that not all of the stories were written as the best they could be. But my most recent one, Halloween Candy, I edited it to be the best flash fiction story I ever wrote. It was a completely changed story. You have to edit as best as you possiby can so your story even stands a chance during submissions.
- I subscribed to Autocrit.com. I love it. I found a new supportive community of writers and I participated in their horror and paranormal writing courses. I have learned so much and I will miss the teachers, especially Gareth. He is amazing. I have learned a lot from him. In the writing/ publishing world, be openminded and never stop learning.
- Know how to market your own book. Publishers these days expect authors to do a big chunk of the marketing themselves. Yup that’s right. It helps to identify your target readers before submitting a novel to get published. That can help you to know how to market the book. It might be a good idea to focus on that before and during submissions.
- Write the book that only you can write. Write without fear, write with abandon. Editors are not looking for the next mockup of Stephen King’s Pet Cemetery or It. They are looking for your book. Be original. They have seen it all. Do something no one has even thought of before. It does not always have to be your first novel idea. It can be your 20th idea. If it won’t leave you alone in your head when you are out drinking, driving or dreaming, that is the one you explore.
- Create something born from your passions in life, what gets under your skin. What gets you out of bed in the morning? Do what rallies you, angers you or inspires you. Do it all. If you work nights at a morgue, have you ever seen something scary or unusual while working there? I would read that. Do you work the night shift in a cemetery? There’s potential for a creepy story. I heard a story about a local witch who pissed off every other witch in her coven by trying to wake the dead on Samhain Eve/ October 1st. See if you can pen a story from that. Necromancy is generally or should be forbidden. Don’t try it on your own, but it sure could make for a spine-tingling story.
- You can have a huge oak/ mahogany wood desk to write at, but I have been writing for years using a simple desk/ table and a computer (desktop monitor). I buy pens, notebooks, and other writing supplies. I love Staples. The point here is, you have to write. You write and write and write. You always have to improve on your self and your writing. You can own the most state of the art laptop or chromebook, but you still have to write. Go ahead and invest in an external hard drive, fountain pens if you wish, a thousand ebooks, a big coffee mug. But you still have to write. Always save your files and back them up regularly on that external hard drive. But you still have to write.
I hope these tips will help and inspire you to pen your own stories. They are meant to encourage, not discourage. I can’t wait to see what you achieve.
Bright Blessings, Spiderwitch
