Thursday, April 2, 2009

It's Not All About The Writing

I've been behind on writing, my children have been ill and I am not getting much in the way of sleep so I may ramble a little. Please forgive me.

My first attempt at self-publishing is in the works. I submitted to the printers only to find out that I had made a few errors in my PDF file. At first I was discouraged that I had to start from the beginning with the art work, but this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had submitted the material although I was still not 100% satisfied thinking that I had done all that I could do with such old files. I've been working with an ADOBE Photoshop program and my new illustrations are turning out much more appealing, in my opinion.
I am now very thankful that I didn't print my first submission. The revisions in artwork and a few other suggestions made by the printers have also led to some structural changes that I had not considered. I have been learning a lot through this process. Writing is not something to be taken lightly, it is a lot of hard work. There were times when I thought that getting the story down just right, crossing all the t's, and editing a dozen times would never end. Now I realize this is only the beginning.

I have always enjoyed reading as much as I enjoy writing and I find that to succeed as a writer you have to love to read and research. Lately I have been researching printers, editors, and agents; business proposals and writing platforms; children's magazines, programs, and educational needs for preschool age children; not to mention query letters and business plans. Believe me when I say the list goes on and on.

So, you want to be a writer and progress to published author! You have an idea for a story, you write it down and decide it's pretty good. Don't stop there! Read it, and write it again, and again and again. Now that that is done; edit, edit, edit, and then write it again! Research not only where to submit your material and how to promote it but how to sell yourself as a writer that should be read. Decide on your writing platform and marketing strategy or at the very least find those that can do this for you. Network, network, network. Finally, your ready to submit your material, be prepared to wait, and if your lucky enough to sell be prepared to wait some more. If you don't sell this time around be prepared to start the process over again, maybe from the beginning or at the very least somewhere in the middle. No one said it would not be work!

Bottom line: Love to write, love to read, enjoy research, and never stop learning...then you might have a chance in the world of the published author.

SEE YOU THERE!!

2 comments:

  1. Summer,

    You offer some excellent insights into the process of writing and publishing. May I put a line on www.ycitywriters.com and the blog?

    ReplyDelete