What advice would you give to someone who would like
to write a book and the second part of the question is
how does one become published ?
The most important advice I have to give is to
Keep Writing no matter what.
You only get better at something the more you practice at it.
Hone your skills so that when you do send out your manuscript
to be published, you've given it the best you've got.
But, don't be discouraged by rejection.
Very few people get published the first time out,
rejections are par for the course.
You've got to learn to accept them and to not take them personally.
But, if an editor is kind of enough to give you feedback
(which doesn't usually happen)
take that feedback to heart and utilize it.
He/she knows what they need and what it takes to get published. Believe what she/he tells you.
They do know what they're talking about.
For the second part of your question, how to get published...
I don't have an easy answer here,
I'm just going to repeat to you what I've been told.
To get published, you need to believe in your book,
but you also need to be willing to revise and delete if necessary.
Other things to consider that a potential publisher
will want to know...
Who is your book's audience?
What will make your book stand out
amongst the thousands of books like yours?
What are you personally going to do to drive sales of your book?
If you have the answers to these questions,
you're a step ahead of the game.
A publisher is taking a chance on you,
what can you do to prove that you're serious
about helping to make your book succeed?
I do want to give a very important piece of advice,
Do Not Give anyone...
editor, agent, publisher, any upfront money, ever.
A reputable publisher will not ask for money
before even reading your book.
Think of it this way, when you interview for a job,
does the employer pay you before you've been hired
or even done a day's work?
Take a moment to check out this website before signing
on any dotted lines or handing out any money.
It'll save you a lot of heartaches and
hopefully put your book in good hands.
6 - At what age did you begin writing ?
Was there a particular teacher who took an interest in you
and guided you or perhaps one of your parents ?
I began writing when I was 12 or 13.
I come from an abusive home and writing was my release.
It was the place to vent my anger and fears
instead of keeping it bottled up.
Today writing is still the place I express a lot of my emotions,
only now the pages are mostly filled with the absurdities of life
and how to get through them.
The one person who sticks out in my mind as a source of encouragement was my 10th grade teacher, Mrs. LeBlanc.
And it was a kind of backass encouragement.
She was big on giving essay assignments and
I had a tendency to write beyond what she was looking for.
I remember one particular assignment that she
had graded and commented on.
"This essay deserves an A for writing, imagination and storytelling, but I'm giving you a C-, because you went off topic
and didn't keep to the subject assigned.
Maybe you should consider a career in fiction writing someday."
Damn, you know, even today,
I still find it hard to stay on topic and discuss the topic at hand.
So... what were we talking about, Lucy?
Oh yeah, her backass encouragement about fiction writing
stuck with me and made me consider something
I'd never thought of, making up stories to earn money.
7 - How does a book or story come to you ?
A lot of times, characters and stories come to me as I'm walking, driving or weirdly enough, in dreams.
Even the people at Walmart can be a character in a story.
For example:
The older blonde woman with the perfectly made-up face,
stylish clothes, stiletto heels and enormous jewelry...
and she's shopping for groceries at Walmart?
What's up with that?
Why is she dressed to the nines to go grocery shopping at Walmart?
Cruising for guys?
Hub who demands she look like a Barbie doll at all times?
Failed model?
Or just sad old woman looking to hold onto her youth?
There you go, there's a character to begin the storyline
of a fiction novel.
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