Where does the help come from?

I wanted to get back to my writing blog, and so here we go.

I have to advise that when you are moving ahead in writing, or any profession, having assistance is a vital part of that process.

To get a short story, or novel published you will need help.  This help can come in many fashions: family and friends can give you encouragement and are there to support you.

Besides family, you must also seek out professionals in your field.  Never be too shy to ask questions of people, they have been where you are, and will find most of them are more than happy to assist you.

When I say, ask for help, I am not saying to bug them to give you work, or read your novel.  I am stating at the beginning seek their advice on the business, and how to break into it. Find from them how they started out, and see if they can inform you about some tips for you to follow.

This next topic is very important for me.  Because I of the advice I received, I soon discovered there are many disreputable publishers and agents out there. Many authors get books published and find themselves in more debt than with what they stared out with.  One place to start out is Preditors & Editors.  Another place is to go to Linkedin and make some contacts with established writers. Learn from others before you leap.

Once I found publishers that might be interested in my work, the writing campaign soon began.  I will get into this section in a later blog.

I will say that you will find much help from the publishers you are writing to. Some of these publishers will, in fact, reject your inquiry, but will give you constructive criticism. Do not be offended by criticism, and remember they are in the business of publishing books, so if you want to get your book published, listen to them.

I found this type of help from Will Sutton, of Safkhet Publishing. This is the publishing company that I recently signed with.  He was very helpful and made some excellent comments on the sample chapters I sent him.  With his recommendations, I made some changes and my novel is much better now because of them.

Another person, who helped me, is author Sheryl Browne.  I must admit I was feeling very discouraged and was thinking of just quitting the writing game.  She gave me some encouraging words, and because of that I stuck with it, and now we are here.  She is a great writer, and I would recommend reading some of her work.

When I started this blog, Carol Wyer was instrumental in helping me.  I knew nothing of blogs and she instructed me on how to start.

So basically the topic of this blog is simply, find professionals in your chosen field, and listen to their advice.  And always remember once you are established to give advice to others who are starting out like you did.

Later, I will write a blog about cover letters.  I will also cover the process of cover design, editing and rewrites when this comes up in the next few months.