(Note: J.J. wrote the following article for the Shades of Romance Online Conference, August, 2003. He used
the following steps to get Renee and Jay published in 2001.)
#1: Think big; start small.
Unless you have the ability to write a surprise bestseller like Cold Mountain, you must start small.
If you start big and send out your entire collected works to the biggest names in the publishing industry, you will get soundly
rejected. All you'll have will be a stack of rejections.
#2: Write what you like to read, and write what you know.
You must write for your market from the very beginning. Someone will publish
your work if A) it's good enough, B) there's a market for it, and C) the market isn't already overflowing with similar books.
To determine your market, answer this question: “What do you like to read?” For example, if you like to read romances
most of all, you know this market already. You may even know the “formula” so well that you could write a romance
novel in your sleep. You know you have to have a bare-chested Fabio on the cover of your book, and your title has to be something
like Suddenly or Insatiable or Desires or even better: Sudden Insatiable Desires. And
since romance novels are about relationships, and you've had a few, you already know what to write about.
#3: Edit.
It's hard to admit when your writing isn't good enough. Spend weeks, even months, improving your writing
so you'll have a better crop to send out. Bounce your work off a spouse, a friend, even an enemy-get your work in the hands
of potential readers (and critics) before you send them to any market.
#4: Examine and determine your market.
Instead of sending out random mailings to the market, purchase Poet's Market and/or Writer's
Market. Study them. Whittle down the markets to a handful where you think you writing will have the best chance.
#5: Flood your market with query letters.
Send out query letters to learn the precise guidelines for each market. Sometimes you'll find that the markets
have changed. You might receive guidelines from a magazine that wants “gut-wrenching” stories. You send some real
intestine-twisters, and they reject them because they've changed their editorial style to include “butterflies and puppy
dogs.” Sometimes getting these guidelines will save you the time and trouble of sending to the wrong market.
#6: Jump through all the hoops.
You'll find that each market can be extremely picky. If they say to send up to three poems or short stories,
send only one of your best. If the guidelines say “no more than 1,500 words,” give them exactly 1,499. If they
want it typed, triple-spaced, on 20-pound paper-do it. You have to prove to them that you're as picky as they are. Pay attention
to the details, and they should pay attention to you.
#7: Submit.
Flood your market and keep a list of what you send where and when you send it. Make friends with your postal
carrier. Though email submissions are rising because of 9/11 and the anthrax scare, snail mail is still the norm. Choose postage
stamps based on how fast they look. When you fully understand the next step, you'll see why. And don't hang out by the mailbox
daily. A watched pot never boils.
#8: Wait. Wait some more. Repeat steps 1-7.
Keep writing while you wait. As soon as you have a batch returned, turn that batch around the
next day and send the rejected work to another magazine or journal--because what one editor rejects, another might accept.
The poet Nikki Giovanni said it best: “You can't get published if nothing's in the mail.”
#9: Learn from your rejections.
Occasionally an agent or editor has time to comment on your work. These rejections, though heart-breaking,
are usually instructive. If an agent or editor takes the time to reject you in a personal way--pay attention to it. Narrow
the gap, and submit again.
#10: Join local and online writers' groups and take classes for support.
The rest of the world cannot understand why you stress so much over the choice of a single word.
Non-writers do not understand why you write down your random thoughts on napkins or why you suddenly wake in the middle of
the night to jot something down. We all need help, and chatting with other writers online or sitting with other writers in
classes can help.
#11: Build a list of credits.
You will get some credits eventually, making your query letters longer than: “Dear
Editor: Please consider `X, Y, and Z' for publication. I am currently unpublished.” Now you'll get paid--with copies.
Now you'll be famous--in your own house. Now you'll see your work in print--in about six months to a year. But, oh, the confidence
you'll feel! All you went through will seem but a nuisance, a mere blip on the radar screen of your writing life.
#12: Submit to bigger markets and hope.
Once your list of credits gets longer and you feel even more confident, go on to bigger markets.
Many publishers, editors, and agents say that lists of credits DO NOT IMPRESS THEM in all capital letters. Yet, the same writers
seem to get published again and again. Credits have to impress them in some way. Credits can get you a longer look, and that's
all you really want, and hopefully, that's all you'll ever need.
