With thanks to

unovis

Note: This is not a how-to-write post. In order to get published you will need to know how to write, including, but not limited to: a) original stories, both long and short, may to be structured differently than your fanfiction; b) short stories are structured differently than novels, e.g., more vs. less character development, and the need for greater vs. lesser amounts of backstory.

Writing links are welcome in the comments, as are, well, comments.

GRAND OPINING EVENT

So you’re reading something off the NY Times’ Best Seller list or Oprah’s Book Club or Heather’s Picks, and you find yourself struggling to finish the third chapter. “This is utter crap!” you say. “I can write better than this!”

The room gets a little brighter as the [energy efficient, ecologically friendly] light bulb appears over your head. “I can write better than this,” you repeat. “And I already have.”

You do a little wild book tossing as you go through your shelves and realize some of the books that are big sellers (or published at all) aren’t as good as those stories you and your friends are writing and posting online. In fact, the only difference between those books and yours is that the published ones, by and large, don’t feature characters named Ronon, Methos, Aeryn, or Willow. That and the fact that those authors are getting paid for their hard work, while you? Are not!

This is your epiphany moment. You suddenly realize you want to see your name in print (quit your day job, win the Man Booker prize, have Angelina Jolie play you in the movie of your life). So you start to think about becoming a published writer.

The best thing to do at this early stage is look into it a bit more to see if you actually want to do this. Remember, being a successfully published writer is hard work, loss of control, and more hard work. Right now, you write what you like, when you feel like it, have control over where it goes and who reads it, and get lots of shiny feedback.

Professional writing involves lots of hard work. Did I mention the hard work? The work itself is comprised of three major components: The writing, the publishing (including the dreaded contract, and also? The Rejections!), and the marketing. Don’t imagine you can skimp on any one of these time-consuming areas. Don’t think you’ll just write the book and someone will magically publish it. Or market it. Each component requires a different skill set. Even Stephen King goes on book and media tours. Neil Gaiman blogs daily. And these guys have agents and publicists.

Read about the publishing market. I like The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published. I only read the chapters that are relevant to the step as I come to it. Subscribe to the weekly newsletter from “Publishers Weekly”. Subscribe to various publishers’ and agents’ blogs. Get a feel for the marketplace. Decide where you want to be.

Talk to writers, read Stephen King’s On Writing, (or Writing Down the Bones, or Bird by Bird). Read my livejournal and the posts of my friends. Join some lists, lj communities, whatever. Do the due diligence. Then, should you decide you’re up to the challenge, I have a seven simple steps that will help you along that path.

The Significant Seven: A Twelve-Step Program Minus Five
Step 1. Metaphors Be With You
Step 2. Let’s Get Ready To Grumble
Step 3. Hostile Makeover
Step 4. The Ego Has Landed
Step 5. An Embarrassment Of Bitches
Step 6. Lust in Translation
Step 7: A Band in all Hope

Step 1. Metaphors Be With You: http://storm-grant.livejournal.com/18135.html