Getting Published

The short version: Write a LOT of manuscripts. Submit all over (well-targeted, please.) Repeat until published or institutionalized.

The long version: From February 2005 (when I started writing) to April 2007 (when I got my first sale), I wrote 30 manuscripts and had 150 rejections. You can do the process slowly, or you can rip off that band-aid like I did, but the well-written, well-targeted, submission process (read: well-written, well-targeted, yet still REJECTED process) is crucial to your development as a writer.

My own future agency rejected me three times. AND THEY WERE RIGHT TO. The first three manuscripts I submitted WERE NOT MARKETABLE. But by the time I hit them up for the fourth time, I had a pile of good work, thicker skin, more experience, a stack of personal letters from editors, and a better handle on the market.

So here’s what I think is the most important lesson in writing for publication: To be marketable, a manuscript must be well-written, but not everything well-written is marketable. Do not forget this, because it will break your heart. When you get a rejection it means “We don’t think this is marketable.” It DOES NOT mean, “We don’t think this is well-written and you should quit.” I have many really well-written manuscripts that I L-O-V-E, but I know (mostly by being told by 12 different editors each) that they will probably never be on a bookshelf. But, I didn’t know it when I was writing and submitting them.

So, how do you write something marketable? DON’T. Just write what you love and write a LOT of it. You’ll love each and every little creation, fiddling with word choice and story structure and grammar…and because it’s your baby, you just won’t have a clear vision about it’s ‘consumer potential.’ It’s not the way we engage our work. And if you do engage your work that way, it will KILL what makes your writing special. But never fear, it’s not like you’ll never understand the editor’s reactions. About ten or so manuscripts and thirty-plus well-targeted rejections later, you’ll probably see what the fuss was or wasn’t about.

Write a lot. Submit a lot. Do it fast. Do it now. Don’t stop.