Most writers know about art. They know how to put a sentence together and how to find rhythm. They also know what works.

Wannabe writers are still learning. They need to practice, practice and – practice. But once they’ve practised, there’s something else they need to learn: how to get published. For which, read this.

Getting Published* is written by a man with the skills for the job. Apart from running a literary consultancy, Harry Bingham is a best-selling author of eight books, including this one. This is a book with a double gain – good to read and great to dip into. It’s particularly useful for would-be novelists, and packed with facts. Did you know…

• You need to spend as much time revising and improving your work as writing it
• Your story needs to get going from the beginning, not nine chapters in
• A literary agent receives between 400 and 2000 submissions per year. Of these, only one or two will end up represented
• Being young and beautiful helps [but don’t quit yet!]
• Fantasy and sci-fi are harder to sell than other genres
• A strong title helps when submitting your work, but it might be changed by the publisher
• There’s no copyright in titles, but if there’s scope for confusion, you should choose something different
• Debut authors are more likely to be published when there’s less competition, i.e. between January and April
• Authors will probably experience a burst of PR around book launch time, and then – nothing

So, not good news then. But Harry does stress that the manuscript is key (revise, revise, and don’t send your book out until it’s ready). He also says you should love what you do. These two things should carry you through – along with this guide.

One of the greatest challenges for new writers is finding an agent. Getting Published asks whether you need one, how to get one, and what having an agent means. It also gives tips on how to submit, and (horror of horrors) what to do if your work isn’t good enough.

Getting an agent is just the start. There are many more steps, such as working with publishers, interpreting a contract and daunting exciting topics such as libel and copyright. The book provides valuable guidance, along with useful comments from industry professionals, and an insightful, if depressing, look at the market.

Read Getting Published for an informed view of the industry, then read it again, according to need.  The advice provided is tough and practical but diluted with humour. The road to being published is not without potholes, but it can be travelled – with a lot of hard work. And persistence.

Postscript

Self-publishing, formerly dubbed vanity publishing, has now become a different beast with the rise of the e-book and its associated reader (such as Amazon’s Kindle). Anyone wanting to learn about the industry would be wise to read up on this as well. This is a time of great change.

Tell us what you think about the changes in publishing, via the comments.

* The full title is: The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook Guide to Getting Published, A & C Black, 2010

**Ellie Stevenson writes articles on history, careers and the arts.

When I edit something my main aim is to achieve clarity. Ideas should be clearly and logically expressed so that the document says what it’s supposed to and the reader can understand without difficulty.

There are two issues that tend to make a document unclear but with a bit of study and some careful consideration you can improve your writing by avoiding or lessening the extent of these errors.

Problem 1. Your spelling, grammar and vocabulary aren’t up to scratch

It may seem obvious but trying to make a point with imperfect spelling, incorrectly used words, mistaken homonyms, poor punctuation and sloppy typing is not going to be easy.

This type of problem can only be corrected with education. Extensive reading (good quality fiction or non-fiction), a dictionary and a grammar guide will help. Don’t rely on your MS spellcheck function to pick up everything! It won’t always realise if you’ve used the wrong word or your sentence doesn’t make sense.

If in doubt, get a proofreader to take a look and make corrections for you.

Problem 2. You don’t know when to stop

Sometimes people think they need a certain amount of text to get the message across or to look right on a page. This leads to a dangerous combination of waffling, repetition and meaningless drivel. Sometimes people just struggle to be concise and the same thing happens.

Every sentence and paragraph should have a purpose. If you’re not imparting essential or useful information then why are you writing?

Read through what you’ve written and look for repetition and passages that seem to lack direction. Using a proofreader to get a fresh perspective can be helpful as it’s easier to spot text that’s obscuring your meaning or disrupting the reader’s experience.

Putting it all together

I’ve had clients with both these problems, sometimes simultaneously. Working on their copy was like putting a badly constructed puzzle back in the right order. It was hard to make sense of at first but after the editorial process was finished each picture became clear.

This post is a counterpart to Being Concise.

Being concise is always a matter of consideration for copywriters. It’s not because we charge by the hour instead of the word count, it’s because wasted words are just that.

Recently I’ve been working on a series of articles between 800 and 1000 words in length. Even with this fairly generous amount of space there is no room for waffling or repeating ideas. It disrupts the flow of information which makes it harder for anyone who decides to read it.

This morning I had an even tougher challenge – to fill an area that could only take 412 characters, including spaces. My aim was to summarise a unique business, what they offered, where and how they offered it and who they were offering it to. It’s daunting to try and condense something so much but it’s also essential. You couldn’t publish an entire business plan online and hope to attract customers that way. Neither would you expect people to read a full film transcript before deciding if they want to go and see the film.

You have to recognise what information is essential for your audience. Cut everything else.

I dropped the project. I got busy. Other commitments that hadn’t been there the year before when I won NaNoWriMo took over my life and kept me from the NaNo goal. My task now is to ensure this failure is not permanent. I have a great start to my new novel. I’m very happy with what I managed to write. All I have to do is make the time to add to it and complete the job.

Failure can be temporary and it can become success.

This is because I’m a pedant.

If you’re not concerned about the details you needn’t read on. You may discover I was one of those annoying kids at school who read your essay or short story and said “I like it but you missed a comma here and you’ve used the wrong instance of ‘there’ on page 4, paragraph 2, in the third sentence.” And yes, I am aware that that was a ridiculously long sentence! I would never do that on a piece of advertising or web copy or even in a novel.

But I digress.

I have often had cause to visit websites which are set up to promote a business. Some of these websites are aimed at selling the services of SEO experts (which I dabble in on behalf of Firehoop). Some of these websites are for other businesses like hotels or personal trainers. Like any person who uses the web for work or recreation, I get around a lot! Unfortunately, it also means I see typos a lot!

Sometimes I even get emails full of them – from copywriters and so-called ‘communications experts’ alike.

For any of my online copywriter friends reading this, I should point out, it’s not you. If it was a friend I would just point it out – especially if it appeared on their website! I’m not going to name any culprits but if you know me and talk to me on Twitter (or you happen to have published one of my guest posts) then I consider you a friend and it’s definitely not you!

I guess that doesn’t narrow it down much. Maybe it’s you? Maybe it’s your site that’s full of typos? Have you checked? It’s not good for business you know! Just imagine what sort of impression you’re creating.

All too often at work and in my life in general I come across bad spelling, bad grammar and sloppy typing. Some things just need a quick tidy up whereas some are almost illegible but even if you’re confident with your writing it’s worth getting somebody to take a look with fresh eyes. If they’re as pedantic as me it’ll be time and money well spent!

But what if I’m struggling to find the right mood? Where do I turn for inspiration?

I’ve always believed that any author or prospective author should read – a lot. If I’m toying with the idea of writing about something tragic then I’ll turn to one of my favourite novels by an author who nailed the emotions and sense of tragedy for me. If I want to write about travels abroad, I’ll turn to a writer I love who has written their own account of foreign travels.

I don’t copy the story, or even the style. But by reading, or remembering how I felt and what I noticed about the way a book was written, I can put myself into a suitable frame of mind. It gives me food for thought in the same way that factual research can and often inspires an equal amount of story planning and fact finding as well as actual writing.

If you’re struggling for inspiration why not return to a favourite author, or find a new one who writes in the genre or subject area you’re planning to follow. You might be surprised where the journey takes you and it may even inspire you with an idea of what you definitely don’t want to do.

Even if you read merely to distract yourself from the frustration of deleting word documents, a good book is often a strong encouragement to pick up the metaphorical pen. If you can imagine thrilling your readers as much as your favourite author thrills you, what more incentive do you need?

Writing shouldn’t be easy, but it should be fun and emotionally fulfilling. Don’t confine yourself to an empty room with just a clock and your laptop. Take a novel to the sofa, stick the kettle on, and settle down for a good read. Your writing deserves it!

A while ago I got a comment on my now defunct personal blog that made me panic. For some time now I’ve been internally debating the place of realism in my novels. I worry about how realistic they are and I worry about how realistic they should be. I worry about a lot of other stuff as well but realism has been my prime concern.

I brought the question up in response to an article on The Blood-Red Pencil. Here’s what I wrote:

I’ve written a couple of novels and I’m concerned about realism. On the one hand I think that, because they are works of fiction, I shouldn’t worry too much about making them entirely true to life. On the other hand, I don’t want readers to be put off if they think what I’ve written is completely crazy. Is it a matter of genre?

And here are some interesting excerpts from the replies:

Sometimes absurd plot points are just the ticket to get you thinking about something (think John Irving). If you build the world well and motivate your characters properly, anything is believable. And that’s your concern–believability–not reality. You are an artist with a higher point to make. Leave realism to the journalists! (Kathryn Craft)

As fiction writers, we are asking our readers to suspend disbelief. However, realism and reality aren’t necessarily the same. So Kathryn and Lee are right on when they promote, instead, the term “believability.” Whatever you’re saying doesn’t need to be probable, but it must be possible. Otherwise, you may lose your readers. (Linda Lane)What I find encouraging is the penultimate sentence from Linda – that what authors write doesn’t have to be probable, only possible. What I’ve written is at least possible if not probable.

What worries me is Kathryn’s second sentence. Have I built my world well enough? Are my characters properly motivated?

I fear it is time for another read through for both my novels – and hopefully a fresh pair of eyes!

1. I’m well prepared and I know exactly what scenes I need to write
2. I know it doesn’t have to be perfect – this is the first draft
3. No one will die if I don’t write at least 1666 words of fiction each day!  

Now, if you’ll excuse me I really must go and write 1666 words! O, and get on with my real work too!

Is writing a novel, article or poem a spontaneous act or do you prefer to plan it out like a military operation?

There are merits to both of these styles and I can remember being a time poor student, hashing out my essays in one fell swoop overnight and – miraculously- getting a decent grade for them! One of my best poems was written off the cuff with no particular thought. I just listened to a piece of music and I reacted to it.

With novels and functional writing such as web copy or advertising leaflets it is harder to take this ’seat of the pants’ approach. The novel takes a long time to write and you need to plan a suitable structure to make sure it remains interesting and coherent. With functional writing, every word has a purpose and it’s important not to deviate from or muddle the messages.

Yesterday I read an article about the snowflake approach. Some of the steps are ones I already employ myself when writing novels and some of them seemed a bit like overkill but it’s a good example of how you can start to plan your work and expand on the initial ideas.

It is the expansion that’s often the trickiest part for me. At school so many essays came back to me with the words “could expand more on these ideas”. As an adult I often get stuck fleshing out the details between ‘great idea’ and a novel or functional piece of copy so it’s useful to have a tried and tested method to help.

You can find out more about my own method at Organising Writing. In the meantime I’ll try and keep you updated with my NaNoWriMo progress! You can also follow me on Twitter @Pictors_Pen.

Random or planned? Kathryn Wright

The term blog is short for web log – a web based record which could cover almost any subject.

Some people write about their cats; their hobbies and interests; short stories and poems; offer advice; discuss topical issues and news stories and some people blog on behalf of a corporation.

You can blog about almost any subject you can think of!

And you can blog on your own or in a group. Sometimes people set up blogs on their own and then invite guest submissions!

Choosing a platform

The platform is the lovely piece of internet software that allows you to blog. 

Free and popular platforms include Blogspot and Wordpress which let you upload text, pictures, videos and links with minimum fuss. There’s no requirement for technical knowledge but you do have the option to add your own html code.

To explore other platform options just google the word ‘blog’ or ‘blogging platform’ and sit back in amazement!

Before you write

Why

Why are you writing? Is it just for fun? Is it to drive consumer interest in your business/charity/organisation or school?  Sometimes this will drive your content and you may need to think about how your writing reflects a brand image.

What

Deciding what to write can be tricky but if you have one or two subjects in mind why not try searching online for blogs that post on the same subjects.

If you can’t find any you have a niche! (Or possibly a subject no one else is interested in.)

If you find some, read a couple of posts and see what you think. Do you like it? Is it the kind of thing you’d like to write yourself? If not, what didn’t you like? How would you make it better? This will help you plan the content and style of your blog posts.

Who

Sometimes people write blogs that are just for them. They don’t think about who the audience might be or what experience they want to give them. 

That’s fine, but if you are writing with the intention of getting other people to read your blog posts you need to think about who might be interested and what they want to read.

This can affect your grammar, style, content and use of other media like pictures and video links.

Top Tips for great content!

• As with any writing good spelling and grammar are a must! Read through your post before publishing it and don’t rely on the spell check function.
• People tend to scan through articles when they’re online. Keep sentences and paragraphs short and to the point and use sub heads and graphics to break up the page and aid navigation.
• Make your content useful or interesting – but ideally both! Remember you need to attract your readers. Most blogs have lots of competition so you need to give people a reason to read and return to your blog.
• Feel free to build relationships with other bloggers and blog readers. Post comments on other blogs, reply to people who comment on your posts and reference the blogs that inspire you. Bloggers can make a friendly community and it’s often useful to share experiences and form networks for like-minded bloggers.

Be part of a blogging community! Kathryn Wright