10 Proven Writing Tips

  1. Go to a bookstore and look for books on the shelf where your book would be when published. Write down the publishing houses. Google them on-line and check out their "Writer's Guidelines" and "Submissions." (If you don’t do it their way your manuscript will not be read.)

 

  1. Join a professional organization. You can research organizations on-line for your particular genre. This provides opportunity for growth and the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, and booksellers.

 

  1. Attend conferences. Conferences are a great opportunity to meet editors who are looking for new talent. It gives you the chance to share your work with editors, publishers, and agents in your field. Developing relationships face-to-face is the best way to get your work looked at.

 

  1. Grow professionally. Take writing classes at your local community college, at conferences, or through professional organizations you join. Continually work at honing your craft.

 

  1. Set a time to write every day/week and don’t deviate from it. Keep a journal or start a blog. Write about what you know and what matters to you. The best way to involve the reader is to get them emotionally invested in what you have to say.

 

  1. Write and rewrite. Write and rewrite. Each draft of a work surpasses the last one. Writing is an art and it takes practice to get your masterpiece just right.

 

  1. Look into self- publishing with a reputable company. For one price they can publish, distribute, and market your book for you. Then they get it into the hands of readers through their reliable distributors and network retailers, plus online at Amazon.com.

 

  1. Consider who your audience is and write for them. Some words are meant for one person, some for a hundred, and some for thousands of readers. The intended audience is what matters; not how big that audience is. You have to start somewhere.

 

  1. Read, read, and read as much as you can. Read different types of literature. Become a wordsmith and immerse yourself in the world of words around you.  Write down creative ways an author says something in a book and feel how the words slip off your tongue as you reread them.

 

  1. Buy “How-To Books” that give advice from people in the trenches and experts who, not unlike you, needed direction to get started.