I have added a new category simply called publishing. Within this category I’ll be listing the various steps involved in getting a book published, but more importantly, what you can do to get your work published.
While my focus will be on getting a major publisher to pick up your book, these strategies and ideas will help you become a more effective writer not matter what you set out to do: magazines, blogs, etc. My goal is to provide a wealth of resources, ideas, and strategies that will propel writers forward with their work.
And so we shall begin with the most obvious, but nevertheless most important word of advice I have ever received and will ever give: write. Carry a small journal, buy pads of paper, treat yourself to the yellow pads if you like them better, invest in some nice pens, look into that lap top you’ve had your eye on, get up a half our early or stay up an extra half hour, treat yourself to a coffee or cup of tea five days a week if that will help you write for 30-60 minutes.
Just make sure you’re writing.
Depending on the area of expertise you’re gunning for, you can use snippets of overheard conversations, use passages from books, TV shows or movies, a simple word, a prop, a memory, or a person to spark your thinking. Just go with it and write. Write horribly. Write the worst thing you’ve ever done.
It’s OK, you can always revise later. So much of writing is creating the habit, learning to cultivate your mind so that you can capture ideas, run with a concept, and ultimately jot it down and expand it, exploring the places each idea takes you. In order to begin that journey, writing often–not necessarily well–is the crucial first step.
Ed Cyzewski: Author // Contemplative 