Listen, New Writers!
My family and I enjoyed the musical, The Lion King, recently. Despite our familiarity with the animated version, we bathed
in sets, costumes, music and performances that transported us from The Music Hall at Fair Park to the jungles of Africa.
The dancers, intense in their poetic interpretations, became lions, hyenas, warthogs and wildebeests. Their incredible
physical condition, combined with dedication and discipline, enabled them to dance with precision and beauty.
No audience member could have doubted the near-perfect quality of the performance. None would have been surprised
to learn about the number of hours of rehearsal necessary for such splendor.
The same is true for concert pianists, symphony orchestras, opera singers, and even pop musicians. What about
professional athletes and artists? Many train for years, spending hours practicing to better themselves. To be a
professional in any of these specialties requires training, discipline and practice.
So why is the situation any different when it comes to writing? What makes people think that just because they have a
computer they can write the next bestseller? Are training, discipline and practice only necessary for the other arts and
sports? Of course not! Top writers train and practice in order to hone their craft to near perfection. They set high
standards for themselves in both productivity and the quality of the work itself.
Why the problem?
The accessibility of agents and editors makes the writing profession particularly prone to newcomers. Anyone can
send in a letter or op-ed piece to a newspaper editor or a magazine article to an editor or a manuscript to a publisher. The
problem is that too many “anyones” do!
This simple practice, repeated daily by thousands of beginners, clogs up the system so that many editors no longer
accept unagented submissions. Unprepared and unpolished writers inundate agents to the point that many will not take
on unpublished writers. This hurts the profession as whole, keeping many legitimate queries and manuscripts from getting
reviewed.
What can be done about it?
The suggestion of those much more experienced than I is to be better prepared before you send out any material to
any agent or editor. It’s hard hearing that your writing stinks (or needs some work) from a published author or veteran
editor, but your writing probably does. (I’ll be the first to admit that mine has much room for improvement. Truth be told, I
am nervous about your evaluation of this article.)
If you’re a new writer, work on improving your writing. In the words of the immortal Ann Landers, “Kwitcherbellyachin.’”
I’m sick of hearing you whine constantly about the Catch-22—that no one will read your stuff because you haven’t
published anything. I can only imagine how the seasoned veterans must feel as they endure your complaints.
Instead of setting yourself up for failure, face the fact that you’re green and resolve to learn everything you can about
the craft and the process before you submit your work. Stop moaning and groaning until you’ve paid some dues, sweated
a little and completed all of the following (in order wouldn’t hurt):
Write at least 500 words per day five days a week for six months straight. Journal or work on your novel or use
magazine or online prompts. 500 words daily should be a minimum. Many seasoned veterans require a minimum of 1000
words a day of themselves! Ask yourself how much you’re really writing. Do you like to call yourself a writer or do you love
to write? Ask yourself if you would continue if you never got paid for anything. That’s the only way to know if you love it or
just love the idea of being a writer.
Attend at least two writer’s conferences—more if possible. Check writer’s resources for information regarding
conferences in your area. Many genres boast their own conferences. You get tremendous instruction, time to network
with others writers, plus the opportunity to meet agents and editors and possibly pitch your ideas in an informal setting.
(Occasionally writers have launched their careers by “visiting” with an editor or agent at a conference.)
Join a writers group in your area. Many writer’s resources have listings. If no group exists, form one. Advertise in your
newspaper, at your library or through your online address book to let others know about a group you are beginning.
Share ideas and industry information and critique the work of your fellow members.
Read, read, read. Read the classics to discover how modern writing began and has changed over time. Read works in
your genre. Read bestsellers to know what’s doing well in the current market and to identify trends. Read the
newspaper—at least the front page and editorial sections.
Buy a copy of Writer’s Market. This invaluable tool will teach you how to find which publishers print what you write. It
details what material to send during an initial contact and to whom you would send it. Read the chapters; they contain
excellent instruction on nonfiction, fiction and freelance writing, including writing queries.
Subscribe to Writer’s Digest. This worthwhile investment is like continuing ed for the writing process. It includes writing
prompts, articles on first time successes, and interviews with writers, editors and agents.
Read books on writing. There are dozens available. My husband has threatened to prohibit me from buying any more
books on writing until I get one published! You can find books specific to queries, proposals, grammar, sentence
structure, writers block, characterization, children’s writing, and so on. Ask for recommendations from people whose work
you admire.
Buy or borrow (and read) a copy of On Writing—A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This work will give you some
perspective on the length of time it took one of America’s best-selling authors to “break in.” King’s style engages the
reader as it instructs.
Go back to school. Educational opportunities abound—through universities, community colleges (Fun Ed classes), and
online courses. Remember most professions require members to continue their education throughout their careers (e.g.,
lawyers, accountants, teachers). Again, what makes us writers think we should be exempt?
Join a professional association, such as the Romance Writers of America, specific to your genre. Get involved in it,
volunteering your time.
Brainstorm ideas, but stay focused. It’s great to have lots of terrific ideas (keep them in a file so that you don’t forget
them), but focus your attention on only one or two so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Many never-published writers
adopt the philosophy of “I’ll just throw a bunch of mud out there and see what sticks.” This kind of haphazard practice is
neither disciplined nor effective. We new writers need to finish a project!
Submit shorter pieces to newsletters, smaller newspapers, and regional magazines. Get your feet wet in less
demanding markets; they're also easier to break into. This practice teaches you to query, edit and meet deadlines.
Become an expert in something. Begin soliciting speaking engagements and keep a record of these. Start a website
or newsletter in your area of expertise. Submit articles to newspapers or regional magazines relating to your topic. After
15-20 of them, you’ll have the makings of a book.
Get feedback on queries and proposals. Have a member of your writers’ group (or someone online) critique your query
and your proposal before you send it to an editor or agent. You waste less of your time and their time.
Learn about the publishing houses or magazines. Before you query, make sure your submission fits with their subject
matter and style. Make sure the publisher didn’t just print a book on the same subject last fall. Learn about the authors
they represent and the types of books they like and need. Be educated and professional when you finally make contact.
Don’t waste their time or yours by sending queries to the wrong markets!
Prepare a complete proposal before you send a nonfiction query to any agent or editor. This process will help you
determine if you book is worth spending months of your life working on. It forces you to examine the competition, the
market, your audience and your own marketability.
Finish your novel before you query. In most cases unless you’re a well-known novelist, editors require works of
fiction to be complete before they will consider looking at them. It’s best to put your novel away for 2-3 months before
revising it to give you a more objective eye.
Revise any work a minimum of seven times before submitting it. Let a few days or weeks go by in between so that your
emotions subside, and you can look at your work more objectively.
Set up a system for tracking your submissions. You need to keep track of which magazine, publishers, or agents you
submit your work to. It’s easy to set up a database in Excel or another database format. You may not think you could ever
forget, but you will.
What you gain:
After you’ve done all these things, if you submit a query for which you get a form letter response, then, and only then, do
you have permission to complain!
My family and I enjoyed the musical, The Lion King, recently. Despite our familiarity with the animated version, we bathed
in sets, costumes, music and performances that transported us from The Music Hall at Fair Park to the jungles of Africa.
The dancers, intense in their poetic interpretations, became lions, hyenas, warthogs and wildebeests. Their incredible
physical condition, combined with dedication and discipline, enabled them to dance with precision and beauty.
No audience member could have doubted the near-perfect quality of the performance. None would have been surprised
to learn about the number of hours of rehearsal necessary for such splendor.
The same is true for concert pianists, symphony orchestras, opera singers, and even pop musicians. What about
professional athletes and artists? Many train for years, spending hours practicing to better themselves. To be a
professional in any of these specialties requires training, discipline and practice.
So why is the situation any different when it comes to writing? What makes people think that just because they have a
computer they can write the next bestseller? Are training, discipline and practice only necessary for the other arts and
sports? Of course not! Top writers train and practice in order to hone their craft to near perfection. They set high
standards for themselves in both productivity and the quality of the work itself.
Why the problem?
The accessibility of agents and editors makes the writing profession particularly prone to newcomers. Anyone can
send in a letter or op-ed piece to a newspaper editor or a magazine article to an editor or a manuscript to a publisher. The
problem is that too many “anyones” do!
This simple practice, repeated daily by thousands of beginners, clogs up the system so that many editors no longer
accept unagented submissions. Unprepared and unpolished writers inundate agents to the point that many will not take
on unpublished writers. This hurts the profession as whole, keeping many legitimate queries and manuscripts from getting
reviewed.
What can be done about it?
The suggestion of those much more experienced than I is to be better prepared before you send out any material to
any agent or editor. It’s hard hearing that your writing stinks (or needs some work) from a published author or veteran
editor, but your writing probably does. (I’ll be the first to admit that mine has much room for improvement. Truth be told, I
am nervous about your evaluation of this article.)
If you’re a new writer, work on improving your writing. In the words of the immortal Ann Landers, “Kwitcherbellyachin.’”
I’m sick of hearing you whine constantly about the Catch-22—that no one will read your stuff because you haven’t
published anything. I can only imagine how the seasoned veterans must feel as they endure your complaints.
Instead of setting yourself up for failure, face the fact that you’re green and resolve to learn everything you can about
the craft and the process before you submit your work. Stop moaning and groaning until you’ve paid some dues, sweated
a little and completed all of the following (in order wouldn’t hurt):
Write at least 500 words per day five days a week for six months straight. Journal or work on your novel or use
magazine or online prompts. 500 words daily should be a minimum. Many seasoned veterans require a minimum of 1000
words a day of themselves! Ask yourself how much you’re really writing. Do you like to call yourself a writer or do you love
to write? Ask yourself if you would continue if you never got paid for anything. That’s the only way to know if you love it or
just love the idea of being a writer.
Attend at least two writer’s conferences—more if possible. Check writer’s resources for information regarding
conferences in your area. Many genres boast their own conferences. You get tremendous instruction, time to network
with others writers, plus the opportunity to meet agents and editors and possibly pitch your ideas in an informal setting.
(Occasionally writers have launched their careers by “visiting” with an editor or agent at a conference.)
Join a writers group in your area. Many writer’s resources have listings. If no group exists, form one. Advertise in your
newspaper, at your library or through your online address book to let others know about a group you are beginning.
Share ideas and industry information and critique the work of your fellow members.
Read, read, read. Read the classics to discover how modern writing began and has changed over time. Read works in
your genre. Read bestsellers to know what’s doing well in the current market and to identify trends. Read the
newspaper—at least the front page and editorial sections.
Buy a copy of Writer’s Market. This invaluable tool will teach you how to find which publishers print what you write. It
details what material to send during an initial contact and to whom you would send it. Read the chapters; they contain
excellent instruction on nonfiction, fiction and freelance writing, including writing queries.
Subscribe to Writer’s Digest. This worthwhile investment is like continuing ed for the writing process. It includes writing
prompts, articles on first time successes, and interviews with writers, editors and agents.
Read books on writing. There are dozens available. My husband has threatened to prohibit me from buying any more
books on writing until I get one published! You can find books specific to queries, proposals, grammar, sentence
structure, writers block, characterization, children’s writing, and so on. Ask for recommendations from people whose work
you admire.
Buy or borrow (and read) a copy of On Writing—A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This work will give you some
perspective on the length of time it took one of America’s best-selling authors to “break in.” King’s style engages the
reader as it instructs.
Go back to school. Educational opportunities abound—through universities, community colleges (Fun Ed classes), and
online courses. Remember most professions require members to continue their education throughout their careers (e.g.,
lawyers, accountants, teachers). Again, what makes us writers think we should be exempt?
Join a professional association, such as the Romance Writers of America, specific to your genre. Get involved in it,
volunteering your time.
Brainstorm ideas, but stay focused. It’s great to have lots of terrific ideas (keep them in a file so that you don’t forget
them), but focus your attention on only one or two so that you don’t get overwhelmed. Many never-published writers
adopt the philosophy of “I’ll just throw a bunch of mud out there and see what sticks.” This kind of haphazard practice is
neither disciplined nor effective. We new writers need to finish a project!
Submit shorter pieces to newsletters, smaller newspapers, and regional magazines. Get your feet wet in less
demanding markets; they're also easier to break into. This practice teaches you to query, edit and meet deadlines.
Become an expert in something. Begin soliciting speaking engagements and keep a record of these. Start a website
or newsletter in your area of expertise. Submit articles to newspapers or regional magazines relating to your topic. After
15-20 of them, you’ll have the makings of a book.
Get feedback on queries and proposals. Have a member of your writers’ group (or someone online) critique your query
and your proposal before you send it to an editor or agent. You waste less of your time and their time.
Learn about the publishing houses or magazines. Before you query, make sure your submission fits with their subject
matter and style. Make sure the publisher didn’t just print a book on the same subject last fall. Learn about the authors
they represent and the types of books they like and need. Be educated and professional when you finally make contact.
Don’t waste their time or yours by sending queries to the wrong markets!
Prepare a complete proposal before you send a nonfiction query to any agent or editor. This process will help you
determine if you book is worth spending months of your life working on. It forces you to examine the competition, the
market, your audience and your own marketability.
Finish your novel before you query. In most cases unless you’re a well-known novelist, editors require works of
fiction to be complete before they will consider looking at them. It’s best to put your novel away for 2-3 months before
revising it to give you a more objective eye.
Revise any work a minimum of seven times before submitting it. Let a few days or weeks go by in between so that your
emotions subside, and you can look at your work more objectively.
Set up a system for tracking your submissions. You need to keep track of which magazine, publishers, or agents you
submit your work to. It’s easy to set up a database in Excel or another database format. You may not think you could ever
forget, but you will.
What you gain:
After you’ve done all these things, if you submit a query for which you get a form letter response, then, and only then, do
you have permission to complain!
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