Advice About Publishing From The Pros

7 Valuable Bits of Advice About Publishing From The Pros

By: Holly Abidi

         If you are looking from some real good advice about publishing coming from the pros then this is where to find it. As I traveled through the mind maze of articles and tips that had to do with publishing I made a note of the most valuable tips, advice, and interesting insights into the publishing market that I found. So I’d like to share them with you and I will be sure to include the links so you can check out the websites for yourself.

Website #1 Slow Sand Writers Society

         On this site I found some valuable advice from various authors. Here is the link if you wish to check out the site for yourself, because they offer really good tips on both writing and publishing.

http://www.slowsand.com


1. Todd Shimoda, an author of two prized novels had this to say, “In my experience, getting work published is the easy part of the process, as long as it’s something publishable.”

         This was a valuable tip because if you're going to submit your work anywhere the manuscript should speak for itself.


2. Kathy Hayes, an experienced writer and editor advises, before “submitting to a publication, read it. Determine if the piece you want to submit is similar in style and content to material in the magazine.”

         For authors wishing to submit articles or short stories to publications this is very important advice. You absolutely need to check out the work before hand and make sure that your type of work is something that that magazine features. Think about it, you wouldn’t submit an article on cooking your favorite soup to a magazine that is all about sports, it just doesn’t make sense. However, if you didn’t know and submitted your work—well that would be a joke. It would only mean you never did your homework and shows ignorance, which is not what you'd want to present to any publisher or editor.


3. Paul Miller offers his encouragement to writers by saying, in order to “write well, read everything.”

         You have probably already heard this a number of times, but it never hurts to be reminded and perhaps encouraged or inspired to Read…READ… and read some more. Really, it’s for your own good.

Website #2 Getting Published 7 Powerful Tips

         I enjoyed this site a lot and I recommend that you go and read through it yourself.

http://www.danbrown.com/tips.htm

         It features advice from the author Dan Brown, whom is the author of such #1 bestsellers as Angels and Demons and his acclaimed novel the Da Vinci Code.


4. In light of a solid manuscript that catches the editors eye Brown advises that you need to “build your foundation with a single brick”. Thus, he goes on to add that, “the best manuscripts have a single dramatic question: Will Ahab catch the whale? Will the Jackal kill his target? …your foundation needs to have a sole, central conflict around which all the action revolves.”

         Dan is talking about how to make your manuscript eye catching, interesting, and how to build the whole plot up around some question that the reader needs to have answered and won’t be able to put the book down until he or she finds it.


5. Your writing should flow from line to line and page to page. Dan Brown asserts, “Regardless of what type of manuscript you’re writing, scenes that ‘drag’ are the kiss of death.” Try to trim long scenes as much as possible; instead, be straight to the point. Sometimes it can help to let your characters interact with the description and have them experience what you learned, let them touch, smell, and see rather than tell.(4)

         Any novel needs to have a fast paced plot and a suspense building chill to it, so much so that when you turn the page you want more, you expect more; in fact, you can’t live without more and that is what makes a novel or a manuscript worth reading. Even if you're a beginner or an experienced writer if you keep this in mind you will benefit from this advice.


6. Brown cleverly offers 3 elements that manuscripts can include in order to add a little extra pace and tension:

· The first is called The Clock, which he exclaims is putting a timeline on your story and making it more thrilling and speedy. A clock ticking gives a fixed amount of time for your hero or heroine to reach his or hers goal or else…that’s the end, all is lost.

· The second element is called The Crucible. A crucible is an enclosed ceramic cup used to melt materials at high temperatures. In other words we are talking about adding tension by blocking in your characters so they can’t hide, they can’t run, (gives an evil writers laugh) they can’t escape their problems. This is often when the most unexpected character if put in a tight spot (the crucible) will suddenly take action and become admired by the reader, how lovely.

· The third and last important element is The Contract. This is when an author make a promise to the reader and of course keeps it. A promise can be a form of foreshadowing. For instance, if the author were to mention ahead of time that some characters in a boat have one life raft. Then of course there is an accident and the boat starts sinking, but the reader is not worried because he or she expects the characters to use that life raft the author pointed out. And as promised the characters do use the life raft to save themselves.


7. Research is often key in developing a good solid novel as Dan comments, “Research is the most overlooked facet of writing a successful manuscript. Solid research enables genuine description—writing filled with specifics.” However, keep in mind you shouldn’t cram your knowledge down your readers throat; instead, a writer should only explain what is necessary.


         Research is absolutely necessary to be a writer and you need to do it. There is no way around it or no easy way of saying it… you need to sit down and do some reading and learn…learn to write…learn new things, and you'll be able to writer better and more effectively because our writing is based on our experience and knowledge.











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1. Shimoda, Todd. "Former Member Pages." 2003. Slow Sand Writers Society. Slow Sand Writers Society. 14 Jan. 2005 <http://www.slowsand.com/shimoda.htm>.

2. Hayes, Kathy. "Member Pages." 2003. Slow Sand Writers Society. Slow Sand Writers Society. 14 Jan. 2005 <http://www.slowsand.com/hayes.htm>.

3. Miller, Paul. "Member Pages." 2003. Slow Sand Writers Society. Slow Sand Writers Society. 14 Jan. 2005 <http://www.slowsand.com/miller.htm>.

4. Brown, Dan. "Getting Published 7 Powerful Tips." The pre-published writer's guide to selling a novel. 14 Jan. 2005 <http://www.danbrown.com/tips.htm>.