Dear Aspiring Writer,
If you're an aspiring writer, then you must love language and storytelling. And you will have need of this love, for, like a cunning mistress, literature will take you on a path not yet trodden by others, a path that you will chart for yourself, telling unique stories, using words to express your view of life and love and living.
For me, this road began quite early, when I wrote poetry as a child. But as an adult I decided to write not in my first language, which was Hebrew, but in English. And it was this choice that made the path towards becoming a professional writer even more challenging.
When my first novel was finally published, I wrote about my experience and feelings. If you're curious, read about my thoughts on the road to publication.
Tal
My Road to Publication
When I was 23, I decided to become a writer. My dream was pure. I saw myself sitting in a garden, birds chirping, the wind whispering through the leaves. The whole image was quite serene. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
It was only after I placed my novel with Commonwealth Publications in Canada that I realized there was more to being a writer than writing. This was a vanity press (paid by the author) who promised also to promote and market the book like a traditional publisher. Whether the enterprise began legitimately or not, I don't know. But it ended with many authors losing thousands of dollars. That was a rude awakening.
I decided the only way to become published was to get an agent. I sent hundreds of queries over a period of two years. Only one agent asked to see the manuscript. He wrote back within a week of receiving it to say he was not interested.
Two years later, I edited the manuscript thoroughly and submitted it to The Fiction Works, an excellent e-publisher who, at the time, was still open to submissions. Though the manuscript was not accepted, Sally J. Walker was kind enough to send me several of her articles, free of charge. She also recommended some wonderful books.
My second draft of my first novel was then laid to rest--once and for all. Based on my reading, I created the novel To Sculpt a Living Statue. When the writing was done, I queried several e-publishers and was fortunate enough to be accepted by Books Unbound, a high-quality new electronic publisher.
If your ambition is not merely to write but to become a published writer, you must prepare yourself for an equally colorful journey. The thing to remember through all the downs and downs is that persistence will end in success. It is only a matter of getting good enough at your craft. The competition is fierce. Mistakes are not tolerated.
Once you complete your novel, set it aside for a month or two, then edit it again. I once sent out a query to a traditional publisher who, miraculously, asked for the manuscript. It was rejected shortly after. When I scanned the returned pages in wonder, I saw to my horror that the story was not as polished as I imagined.
When the manuscript is so familiar to you that you quote passages in your sleep, you've probably worked on it enough. Then you must forget all about being a writer, and learn how to market your ideas. Writing a query letter to an agent or an editor can take weeks. You must learn to see your book from the point of a view of an intelligent reader. You must forget how it ends to discover by what means it progresses.
And, of course, it never hurts to set yourself apart from the competition by fashioning a nice letterhead. An email doesn't have to look drab.
In the end, a quality presentation will attract attention, but it will not necessarily sell the manuscript. Different houses have different needs at different times.
Through the years, I have gathered a lot of information about the market. My article on how to write the perfect query letter to a literary agent is the result of years of experience. I always thought that getting published would make me feel complete. The strange thing is, it meant much less than I expected. More good lay in my desire to get published than in the outcome. I was forced to learn, improve-as I still am. So when you find your own journey solitary and trying, focus on the improvements you are making rather than on your tangible success. Like a cause that stems from on effect, success will come in time.
In fact, two years later, I won my first writing competition with my short story, Vera Icon. The Story was published in a paperback anthology that was named after it.
Most unexpected of all, I now reach many more readers by simply publishing my work on Yahoo! Voices. In fact my fiction pieces are read even more than my articles. It is a surprising turn of events, and a wonderful one. Though there are still fiction pieces that I keep on a lonely shelf in my home, waiting for the right opportunity to see them published in paper.
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