Tip #1 for Aspiring Writers
I gave a talk to some students at an MFA program and they appreciated it so I thought I’d share it here on my blog. It was called Ten Tips For Aspiring Writers and I’ll post the tips one at a time.
Inform yourself: Understand the publishing process, what goes on and what you can expect from the moment you send out that query letter. Know what publishing houses publish what kinds of books. Understand the trends. Read the trade blogs, including Publisher’s Lunch, PW Daily and Galleycat. Understand that publishing is in essence a trend-driven industry; even if your book may not be a part of whatever the current trend is – vampire romances, for example – that’s ok. Of all the genres, I would say that literary fiction is still the most deeply affected by the recession and the change to the digital landscape. Publishers seem to be at a loss how to publish books for which sales used to be ‘review-driven’. Newspapers are dying, review space is shrinking. And yet more people than ever are writing about books. It’s a new paradigm, one in which publishers are trying to figure out their place. Staying informed gives you more control over the process.
