Top 10 Tips for Getting Published
l. READ
Read, read, read. Read all of the best books you can -- current ones, old ones, the “good ones” recommended by your local bookseller or favorite librarian. Read like an apprentice – this is the art you wish to create. Lessons of voice, plot, characterization, setting will soak inside you unawares. While reading, pay attention to what you LOVE – circle those things, mark up the pages with reactions and connections. You will most likely be good at writing the sort of books you enjoy reading.
2. WRITE
Write, write, write. If you want to be a writer, write. Write about what you know. Write about what you love. Think BIG. Think DIFFERENT. Tell a universally true story in a freshly original way. If you want to be a writer, write. If not, don’t sweat it. There are a lot of other perfectly nice jobs out there in the world. But, if you are happiest when you are writing and want to try and make a go of this, well then, write, write, write. If you want to be a writer, write.
3. REVISE
Revise, revise, revise. Great stuff happens in revision. Draft after draft we get closer to the truth, closer to the light. Read your work aloud, cut the fluff, get to the heart of it, circle the diamonds and write from there. Focus on the story. Who is your main character and what does she or he want more than anything in the world?
4. GET CHEERLEADERS
Identify a few people in your life who really want the best for you -- people who inspire you and encourage you. Share your dream of being published with those folks and check in with them every once and awhile for a“rah-rah-shissh-boom-ba! GO (fill in your name)! GO (fill in your name)! GO (fill in your name)!
5. GET FEEDBACK
When you’ve written and revised a story to the best of your ability, it's time for feedback. Fellow writers, librarians, booksellers, teachers, and readers in your target market may be willing to critique a first chapter. Listen, really listen, to their reactions/suggestions without defending or explaining. If anything rings true, use it and revise again. If you're still in love.... great... stick with it. If you’ve lost your passion, so be it. Put it aside for now or chalk it up as a “practice piece” and move on. Write something new. This is a tough business to break in and stay in. Publishers have scaled back lists. Every potential acquisition has to have that WOW factor. Do you feel the WOW?
6. JOIN A CRITIQUE GROUP
If you are serious about growing in your craft and being published, find a few kindred spirits and form a writer's group. One model is to meet monthly at a convenient location and everybody brings copies of a chapter. As a chapter is read aloud, the others jot down comments. I find it's most helpful when fellow writers tell me what they love and want more of, questions, and anything that made them pause.
7. READ ABOUT WRITING
The writing is the best teacher of writing. The more we write, the better we become. I also learn and draw inspiration from reading books on the art and craft of writing. Here some I recommend:
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg
On Writing, Stephen King
Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury
The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr, and E. B. White
Dear Genius, The Letters of Ursula Nordstrum, Leonard Marcus
How to Write a Children’s Book and Get it Published, Barbara Seuling
The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators, Anita Silvey
The Way to Write for Children, Joan Aiken
Take Joy, Jane Yolen
Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children, William Zinsser
How to Write and Sell Children’s Picture Books, Jean E. Karl
The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, Nancy Lamb
It’s a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World, Olga Litowinsky
The Left-Handed Story, Nancy Willard
8. JOIN WRITING AND LITERACY ORGANIZATIONS
Consider joining The Author's Guild, the International Reading Association or any good state or local group where you can interact with others in the field. If you're serious about getting a book for young readers published, you'll want to join The Society of Children’s Book today -www.scbwi.org. For a reasonable annual fee, you get a great guide to submitting manuscripts, an updated list of publishers and what they’re looking for, a bi-monthly magazine, and the chance to learn and network at excellent conferences on the local, state and national level. This is where most of the published authors I know got their feet wet. And the LA Conference has dancing! In my upstate New York area, the Children's Literature Connection is a jewel -- www.childrensliteratureconnection.org .
9. MARKET RESEARCH
Make regular visits to bookstores and libraries and see what's hot. Which titles are prominently placed? Which appeal to you? Whose publishing them? Where would your book fit? Ask librarian and bookseller friends what titles they are promoting right now. And, if you don’t have librarian/bookseller friends, go make some today. These are the wonderful people who will be hopefully recommending your books to readers one day. Without them, books can quickly become dust-bunny collectors on shelves. Make a hit list of publishers you'd love to work with.
9. BEGIN SUBMITTING TO AGENTS and PUBLISHERS
Once you have a hit list of publishing companies you’d like to work with, identify editors (preferably assistant or associate editors as they are still list-building) to whom you will send your manuscript based on the submission guidelines specified on their websites. Many publishers only accept agented manuscripts. A great place to meet agents and editors is at writer's conferences( such as the Cape Cod Writer's Conference) and if you're hoping to break in to children's publishing, in addition to all of the SCBWI conferences, an excellent conference to try and get accepted into is the Rutger’s University Council on Children’s Literature One-on-One Plus Conference which pairs promising writers and illustrators with established authors, illustrators, editors, art directors and agents for networking and mentoring -www.ruccl.org.
10. BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE.
Good luck, dear writer,
I'm rooting for you!
Read, read, read. Read all of the best books you can -- current ones, old ones, the “good ones” recommended by your local bookseller or favorite librarian. Read like an apprentice – this is the art you wish to create. Lessons of voice, plot, characterization, setting will soak inside you unawares. While reading, pay attention to what you LOVE – circle those things, mark up the pages with reactions and connections. You will most likely be good at writing the sort of books you enjoy reading.
2. WRITE
Write, write, write. If you want to be a writer, write. Write about what you know. Write about what you love. Think BIG. Think DIFFERENT. Tell a universally true story in a freshly original way. If you want to be a writer, write. If not, don’t sweat it. There are a lot of other perfectly nice jobs out there in the world. But, if you are happiest when you are writing and want to try and make a go of this, well then, write, write, write. If you want to be a writer, write.
3. REVISE
Revise, revise, revise. Great stuff happens in revision. Draft after draft we get closer to the truth, closer to the light. Read your work aloud, cut the fluff, get to the heart of it, circle the diamonds and write from there. Focus on the story. Who is your main character and what does she or he want more than anything in the world?
4. GET CHEERLEADERS
Identify a few people in your life who really want the best for you -- people who inspire you and encourage you. Share your dream of being published with those folks and check in with them every once and awhile for a“rah-rah-shissh-boom-ba! GO (fill in your name)! GO (fill in your name)! GO (fill in your name)!
5. GET FEEDBACK
When you’ve written and revised a story to the best of your ability, it's time for feedback. Fellow writers, librarians, booksellers, teachers, and readers in your target market may be willing to critique a first chapter. Listen, really listen, to their reactions/suggestions without defending or explaining. If anything rings true, use it and revise again. If you're still in love.... great... stick with it. If you’ve lost your passion, so be it. Put it aside for now or chalk it up as a “practice piece” and move on. Write something new. This is a tough business to break in and stay in. Publishers have scaled back lists. Every potential acquisition has to have that WOW factor. Do you feel the WOW?
6. JOIN A CRITIQUE GROUP
If you are serious about growing in your craft and being published, find a few kindred spirits and form a writer's group. One model is to meet monthly at a convenient location and everybody brings copies of a chapter. As a chapter is read aloud, the others jot down comments. I find it's most helpful when fellow writers tell me what they love and want more of, questions, and anything that made them pause.
7. READ ABOUT WRITING
The writing is the best teacher of writing. The more we write, the better we become. I also learn and draw inspiration from reading books on the art and craft of writing. Here some I recommend:
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg
On Writing, Stephen King
Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury
The Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr, and E. B. White
Dear Genius, The Letters of Ursula Nordstrum, Leonard Marcus
How to Write a Children’s Book and Get it Published, Barbara Seuling
The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators, Anita Silvey
The Way to Write for Children, Joan Aiken
Take Joy, Jane Yolen
Worlds of Childhood: The Art and Craft of Writing for Children, William Zinsser
How to Write and Sell Children’s Picture Books, Jean E. Karl
The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, Nancy Lamb
It’s a Bunny-Eat-Bunny World, Olga Litowinsky
The Left-Handed Story, Nancy Willard
8. JOIN WRITING AND LITERACY ORGANIZATIONS
Consider joining The Author's Guild, the International Reading Association or any good state or local group where you can interact with others in the field. If you're serious about getting a book for young readers published, you'll want to join The Society of Children’s Book today -www.scbwi.org. For a reasonable annual fee, you get a great guide to submitting manuscripts, an updated list of publishers and what they’re looking for, a bi-monthly magazine, and the chance to learn and network at excellent conferences on the local, state and national level. This is where most of the published authors I know got their feet wet. And the LA Conference has dancing! In my upstate New York area, the Children's Literature Connection is a jewel -- www.childrensliteratureconnection.org .
9. MARKET RESEARCH
Make regular visits to bookstores and libraries and see what's hot. Which titles are prominently placed? Which appeal to you? Whose publishing them? Where would your book fit? Ask librarian and bookseller friends what titles they are promoting right now. And, if you don’t have librarian/bookseller friends, go make some today. These are the wonderful people who will be hopefully recommending your books to readers one day. Without them, books can quickly become dust-bunny collectors on shelves. Make a hit list of publishers you'd love to work with.
9. BEGIN SUBMITTING TO AGENTS and PUBLISHERS
Once you have a hit list of publishing companies you’d like to work with, identify editors (preferably assistant or associate editors as they are still list-building) to whom you will send your manuscript based on the submission guidelines specified on their websites. Many publishers only accept agented manuscripts. A great place to meet agents and editors is at writer's conferences( such as the Cape Cod Writer's Conference) and if you're hoping to break in to children's publishing, in addition to all of the SCBWI conferences, an excellent conference to try and get accepted into is the Rutger’s University Council on Children’s Literature One-on-One Plus Conference which pairs promising writers and illustrators with established authors, illustrators, editors, art directors and agents for networking and mentoring -www.ruccl.org.
10. BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE.
Good luck, dear writer,
I'm rooting for you!
© 2015 Coleen Paratore (revised from original 2008)