Tips for Successful Writing: A Candid Approach

Famous authors have poured much time and heartfelt feelings into their work. Mix that with the fact they never gave up, even though they were rejected more than once. Combine that with being at the right place at the right time for their big break, and the rest is history. All of these factors are keys for successful writing. Now we shall explore them all in depth.

1) HEARTFELT FEELINGS IN YOUR WORK

Let me explain it this way:

When you are forced to write a school paper or college thesis on some mundane topic that bores you, you are writing because you have to. Words form sentences and your work is complete. Though this paper may get an "A" in class, it's not your best work.

Now, if you happen to write about something you love, you are writing because you want to be. For instance, say you choose a topic that really interests you: politics, religion, animal rights, going green, or views of social situations that you believe strongly in. This paper would therefore turn out bolder, better, and full of your heartfelt words. You would not only put more effort into it, but scrutinize your own work making sure that each sentence had impact. Now you have scored yourself an "A+."

Therefore, my suggestion to any writer is to pick a topic or story that interests you. Pour your heart into it and I'm sure that your work will come out better. I freelance all over the place, under many different names. I don't always write to get paid. (Whoever told you every writer makes big money lied. I'm not saying you can't, but it's something you really have to work at.)

In the beginning I admit, I took a few jobs that I felt weren't my forte and wrote just to write and see my work published. They were, and I received compensation. (For those of you who actually read my Corey Hart 1984 record review, I do apologize but I loved him so.)

I was proud of my first "paid work" but looking back I really don't feel as if it was my best work. The topics just didn't interest me, though I did a lot of research and gave it my best. I would rate this work my "B" grade work.

I now choose to write a story because it's something that interests me; or it's something that others may enjoy. This has proven to turn out better for me in the long run.

2) NEVER GIVE UP

This is easy advice to give, but not so easy to follow. After all, a big stack of rejection letters naturally hurts the ego. It makes you second guess your work, and yourself.

You have to understand a few things and hopefully this will make you feel better. First off, there are so many channels to write in. You have books, magazines, internet news sites, blogs, and communities of news and stories on the web-and the wonderful world of self-publishing.

Confused? Do your research, take your time, and consult other writers, who have been there, where you are standing right now. Good sources are on the web for authors. Lots of online communities are free and have great tips.

APPLY TO THE RIGHT PLACE

Let's just say you have a book well written and it's a science fiction novel. You've submitted to the top ten largest book publishers and after all their rejection letters, you ready to give up. Don't. Look exclusively for science fiction publishers-even if they are smaller they cater to this type of crowd. Check out a few of your favorite sci-fi books and see who published them. Sometimes it's the fact that your story is good, but you are going thru the wrong channels and applying to the wrong place.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Make sure you are following the right submission guidelines. Once I paid an entry fee and entered a short story contest. They told me to reply by 12 pm Central Time. I'm in Eastern Time so thought I had until 2:00 my time because I failed to look up the time zone differences. I sent my story in at 1:04 EST, confident, and thought I was ahead of the game.

My disqualification letter said, "I'm sorry, your story was four minutes late and disqualified." Therefore, review your submission to make sure you are following proper guidelines or risk immediate disqualification. Some places specifically want your ideas only, not your whole story. Others want excerpts, or the whole thing. You must pay attention to detail.

SPELL CHECK AND USE OF RIGHT WORDS

I can't stress this enough. I spell check and re-check and still have typoes. Make sure your work is proofread several times by YOU and your wonderful spell checking computer program before you submit. Your goal is to look as professional as possible. Let's say I typed "Your goal is to look as professional at possible." We know the "at" should be "as" however, the computerized spell checker didn't pick it up. Why? Simple, because at is spelled correctly. Not only spell check for misspells but you must manually check for use of the right words in your document.

BELIEVE IN YOUR WORK

I have a drawer full of stories that received a few rejection letters and I refuse to trash them because I know someday, they will be published. I believe in the words I write but also believe I haven't found the right place to publish them yet. You must believe your work is good enough and stay at it.

ORGANIZATION

It's hard to be organized with so much going on in life, but writer's need have some form of organization to keep afloat. Currently I keep each story idea in separate folders, and have a cover page with places that I come across that I will or should submit the story to. If you are going green, do all this on your computer BUT DO KEEP A BACKUP CD of all files.

I can't stress this enough. My first book was stored on my laptop on my desktop. One day, "poof" when the computer crashed (some glitch that was fully covered by the manufacturer and replaced at no charge) I found myself re-writing seventeen of forty two chapters. I would like to think those chapters turned out better but the stress, time and deadlines it cost me was an important lesson that I just can't stress enough.

3) BEING AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

The only way for this to happen to you is to keep trying. The more exposure you get and the more you try and try again, with the "I shall not fail" mentality, the more doors you will open. Whether you self-publish and promote your own work or find a publisher that just so happens to believe in you and your story, you can succeed.

I read Stephen King's book On Writingand it was very helpful. To think that his wife fished his first big money story Carrie out of the garbage can , and encouraged him to work more on it, the rest for him was history. What would have happened if she didn't snoop in his can that day? We would like to think he would have made it anyhow. From his own admission there had been so many rejection letters nailed to his bedroom ceiling, that he had to upsize the nail. If that doesnt' tell you not to give up what does? He was steadfast for over a decade, and now look at him.

J.K. Rowling indicate she was turned down twelve times or more according to which net articles you read (for Harry Potter) until finally finding a publisher that believed in her. The rest is history. I don't know about you but I'm assuming whoever turned her down has either been given the pink slip by now or is seriously regretting that decision every day of their lives. Imagine the cost of their therapy.

Not only is she a famous world author but she stands up for author's rights, and even battled ebay to issue protection from pirated copies of books.

The key thing to remember is these two authors were just no-names at one point in their career. Both were struggling to make ends meet. What set them apart is they did not take no for an answer, they had talent and believed in their work.

I can't promise you will be the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, but I can promise if you try hard enough and believe in yourself you will achieve your own success.

SUCCESS IS RELATIVE

These are the very simple suggestions to becoming a successful writer. Success however is relative. To me, it's a story that may put a smile on one's face or may help another. I'm a successful business owner and writing is not my career. It's just my way of giving back. If you take one tip from this article, and it helps you, then I have succeeded and gained my own success.

For others success may be to write full time and make it their career. Others want to be a world known author. Some writers desire just to make a little extra income in addition to their regular job.

The recipe for any of these instances, go back to the key ingredients which I've told you about today. Just remember to work hard and believe in yourself.