Recently I participated in a Q & A session for writers at Baker Book House—a very fine Christian book store in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(By the way, if you don’t already subscribe to Louis McBride’s “Baker Book House Connection,” it’s worth your time. While you’re at it, check out the blog of Josh Mosey, the interviewer at this event.)
I thought I would pick one of the questions to address in today’s post.
Question: What are five things a person should do who is trying to get published for the first time?
Answer:
1. Establish a structure and rhythm for writing.
I take what you might call a “whole life” approach to writing. The goal is sustainability. Consider:
- Your relationships. Do your spouse and the rest of your family support your writing? What conversations do you need to have to enlist their support?
- Your time. What days and times are you going to sit down and write? How can you hold this time sacred? If you plan to get up early, for example, what time do you need to hit the sack the day before?
- Your setting. Where are you most likely to be free of distractions? Are you at your best with or without music playing? How can your setting work with rather than against you?
2. Join a writers or creativity group.
This is likely the most neglected practice among writers and probably the biggest game changer available to them. I’m part of a creativity group that meets once a month. Five to eight of us each answer three questions: What’s inspiring you? What are you working on? What would you like prompting on? The group has been nothing short of life-giving—a massive boon to our creativity. (I learned about this meeting format via Todd Henry’s book The Accidental Creative.)
3. Hone your craft.
Read good books in your genre. Ask trusted friends for critical feedback. And put in the hours. Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to become good at something. Steven Pressfield encourages you to “go pro.” By this he means pick up your hard hat each morning, grab your lunchbox, and do the work, come hell or high water.
4. Build your platform.
This is a nonnegotiable today. You need some way to bring exposure to your book. It can be through speaking, blogging, podcasting, self-publishing, a radio show, a company or nonprofit, or a combination of all of these. The important thing is to be gathering a tribe of people who follow you and want to know what you’re up to. This too takes work. But the means to building a platform have never been more accessible. If you have an internet connection, you can work on your platform. Michael Hyatt’s book has become the Bible for platform building.
5. Write a freaking awesome book proposal.
Within a publishing house everything starts with a book proposal. A freaking awesome one can land you a deal. I have been coaching a writer through the process of writing a book proposal, and you might find some of these posts useful.
Looking at the above, what small step can you take today or this week toward getting published? If you have been published, what helped you get there?
I love what you said about the goal being “sustainability.” I’ve been blogging for a year and 3 months and during that time I’ve constantly gone back and forth on how often to write. Landing on a frequency that is sustainable has made all the difference in my approach and attitude about it. For me, sustainable means 1) a frequency where I’m enjoying writing each time I sit down AND 2) a frequency that meets my readers’ needs – i.e., gives them enough content that it’s worth their time to keep coming back and get “attached” to the blog but not so often that individual posts are less valuable because readers see so many of them. There is an equilibrium between my needs and my readers’ needs, and both need to be considered.
Of course, that’s specific to blogging. When I started blogging, I didn’t set out to write anything but blog posts. But over time, as I saw the blog grow and the content hit home for people, I realized I wanted to write more. Then that passion grew to the point that I’m working on your number 5 – a book proposal. That’s where my time is going right now, while keeping my blog up to continue growing my platform.
Oh, and I am working my hardest to specifically make it “freaking awesome.” 🙂
Natasha, thanks. Yes, finding that sweet spot between your needs and those of your readers–that’s the trick. And i agree with you that there is such a thing as posting too much!
Thank you for participating in the conf Friday. It was an excellent time and your presentation was relevant and helpful.
You’re very welcome. I’m glad it was helpful. I felt honored to be there.
Thanks for sharing – I especially like #1 and #3.
Most definitely! Thank YOU for commenting.
Such excellent advice.
I am new at this and actually struggling with even the first step. So far, my biggest problem is inconsistency in getting that structure and rhythm going.
But I am also wanting to work on number 2.
Do you have any suggestions on how to connect with other writer’s or a creative group?
I would LOVE to do this, but I live in Louisville, KY and not sure if there are any such groups here.
Thanks!
Terry
Your question made me curious about finding local groups — I wonder if one of the three listed for Louisville on Meetup.com might be a place to start. You could maybe meet people there and start your own if need be. http://writers.meetup.com/cities/us/ky/louisville/
Thanks for not saying five EASY steps. 🙂 Because while the steps look easy, getting published is anything but. Part of building a platform and writing a great proposal has to do with understanding what people need/want/will buy. It’s not easy to predict this stuff. And once you do predict it, chances are that someone else also saw the same thing you did and he got his proposal in a minute ahead of yours. 🙂 It’s not easy, but it sure is fun.
I think the small step I’d add to your list would be to read every day. Read from old books and new books and see how the same themes are presented in different ways. We have universal needs and desires but how can we tell the same old stories in ways that relate to today’s reader.
Sally,
Thank you. Your points are spot on. No, it’s not easy, but few things really worth doing are, right? And I totally agree about the need to read, read, read in an effort to see ways to say old things in a new light. Bless you for this comment, Sally.
These are really great tips, thank you. I think number 2 is my greatest struggle. I have yet to find a good fit. I also exchange with some other writers. But, I feel serious shyness when sharing my work with other people.
I also think finding writing balance has been hard for me. I tend to just keep going until my brain wants to explode. My husband is good at telling me to just shut off the computer or put away the notebook I’m hiding under my pillow.
Keep after number 2, Lisa. it’s such an important piece. Keep it simple. Try inviting some friends over or out for pizza and let them know what you have in mind. If you call it a “creative circle,” you don’t all have to be writers, but you still get the benefit of support, feedback, and accountability.
This might be another topic… but when in a creative circle how do you discern what to take to heart and what to leave behind? I did give my first chapter to a group of people and got such varying responses that I felt lost afterwards. I have had the same experience with writing contests.
Hmmmm, that’s a tough one. I’m going to send you a direct message via Twitter about this.
Great post, Chad.
Like Dory said,”just keep swimming”.
Amen to that!