Let's speak some truths about writers. Writers write. That is just what we do. However, there are three categories of writers; there are those who write for the hussle and bussle of being published; those who do it for the fun of it, published or not; and those who just don't care. For those who don't care, this blog is not for you. I am going to focus on the first category.
To read up more about those who do it for the fun, please read my blog, "Writers write."
Get Published
"Good writing is useless if you don't know which market will buy your work," taken from Writer's Market. The mistake most writers make is to first write and then look for the market. This is the other way around. It helps to know how to pitch your work when you know who you are writing for such as the young adolescents, female or male population, romance, thriller e.t.c.
We writers write for the love of writing
and if we attract an agent/editor/publisher, then its all good. However if you believe in what you write but you don't wish to take your writing by the horns, your writing might remain just that- your writing; unpublished.
In other words, to be published means to get involved in the chase before even scripting the black ink on the blank paper; do your research.
Good writing, Knowledge, Professionalism, Persistence
The best book I can refer you to is the directory, "Writer's market" edited by Robert Lee Brewer. In this book, you get thousands of listings for publishers, editors, literary agents, and lots of tips about writing and publishing.
In the 2012 edition of the mentioned directory, I learned that there is no true guideline to become a successful writer but if one puts a couple of elements together such as good writing, knowledge of writing markets, professionalism and persistence, one can have a well-paid career in writing.
Do I believe what I read? Yes.
The chase of editors and agents and publishers might be a long one BUT if you do your research before beginning, you would catch the right attention. Why? Because publishers are constantly looking for materials to publish. Also, without writers, editors as well as literary agents won't get their pay checks. They need your work. However, they don't want to waste their time reading the wrong materials.
Get on it
So how do you do your research? Nowadays there are many lists online set up according to genre and agent qualifications. All you need to do is take your time to look around, get the right idea of the population you would like to target and begin your search from there. You begin to contact the agents/editors/publishers.
Many agents/publishers would ask you for a synopsis or query letter. These are information you type up in a particular format in order to help them get an idea of the type of writer you are and the sort of material you want to present.
The stricter you are on yourself about narrowing down your genre/target population, the less rejection letter you would get.
Other things you could do to get the process going is to join literary agents mailing lists in order to get posts from them. This way, you get into the mind of an agent; you understand what they are looking for and once in a while, information to help you be a better writer. I find this agent to be very informative; Rachelle Gardner.
Above all that has been said, if you really want to be a published writer, do your homework and then focus on writing for the love of it.
Questions? Please do not hesitate to leave a note in the box below or simply email me at funkeojowriter@gmail.com. HAPPY WRITING :-)
