First Word

  I have a question: What is the one thing that all writers need to be successful? Is it talent? Is it a great literary background? Is it a great story? I'm sure you can think of many other potential answers. So, what do you think it is? That one magical secret for success? The answer: CONFIDENCE Confidence will take you further than all of the things listed above. Why? Because confidence means you believe in yourself AND your skills and expertise to deliver all of those things listed. Confidence gives you the motivation to call literary agents until you find the one who is right for you. Confidence means being fearless and approaching publishers. Confidence means you don't just believe in your work, you believe in YOU. How do you achieve confidence? It's not magical. It's about working and gaining the knowledge and insight that YOU know your stuff. You know you have all of the skills listed above. And you KNOW you can do anything. When you've achiev...

  Good question, right? If you want to go the traditional or independent publishing route, you need to understand what is marketable to publishers. Just because you’re a great writer won’t get you published. Publishers want more than great writing. They need a concept that will sell. Always keep this key thought in your mind: publishers want to make money. They are a business, and like any business they need to stay in business. What are they in business to do?   If you think like a business person vs. a writer then it will help you understand how to sell your book to a publisher. Too often writers are only thinking that they want or love to write. They are thinking about craft. In fact, when I’ve done an informal survey with writers from my writers’ group, the majority aren’t thinking with their business hats on. When you fail to think like a businessperson then you’re less likely to sell your book.   When I researched what publishers want these days, the number ...