Welcome to the inaugural edition of 'My 3 Tips', where every month, I ask a person in the book industry to share with us their 3 tips on a particular topic.
I thought I'd kick start with my former publisher, Bernadette Foley. I met Bernadette in 2007 when she commissioned the manuscript for Under A Starless Sky for Hachette Australia. We worked together again with The Russian Tapestry. She's since moved on to launch Big Country Book Club, a new community for readers and writers online.
As an aspiring author then, I found Bernadette to be nurturing but firm in her guidance. She's been an inspiration behind my writing, aspiring me to aim higher and improve with every book.
So without further ado, here's Bernadette with her tips.
My 3 tips to aspiring writers want to get published - by Bernadette Foley
- Ask why you are writing
- Be patient
- Keep reading
There are many other tips I could offer, some would depend on what you are writing, but these three stand out for me.
- Why are you writing? Because you can’t not write. That is one of the best reasons. Because you want to be rich and famous…mmm, stop now. Because you have a message, a story, information or expertise you want to share with others. This is also a great reason to write, but it could mean that you need help from a publisher or editor to develop your manuscript. Knowing why you are writing will help you decide how to approach the task, who your audience is, which publisher or agent to approach, or to self publish. Be honest when you answer this question.
- Be patient throughout every stage of the writing and then publishing processes. Start by being patient with yourself. Writing is a skill that improves with practice; write as often as you can and don’t be afraid to experiment with styles and ideas. No one else needs to read your exercise pieces. Don’t rush – very few published authors write only one draft. Write, rewrite, put your manuscript away, come back to it and read your work as if you are its editor; not its creator. Once you submit the manuscript to a publisher or agent, be patient with them. They are not being slow because they aren’t interested in finding new authors. Most likely they will be reading submissions in their own time, not in the office, and they will have added yours to a mountain of others. Then, if you are offered a publishing contract you will need to be patient with the whole publishing team. There will be times when you think nothing is happening. Meanwhile, in the publishing house editors, designers, sales and marketing people will all be working to make your book a success; they just might not have had time to stop and let you know that.
- Writing takes time and brain space but that is no reason to stop reading. If your manuscript is fiction you might decide to read non-fiction, and vice versa. Read critically – think about the writing and how you might have approached it differently if you’d written on this subject. Equally, analyse what the author has done well. This will help you to edit and appraise your own work. Read for research and for relaxation; just don’t stop.
I would like to wish you all the very best with your writing
Bernadette
Bernadette Foley has worked in book publishing for 30 years, most recently as a publisher of fiction and non-fiction for Hachette Australia. She teaches at the Australian Writers Centre and Professional Editing at UTS. Bernadette is also the manager of a new community for readers and writers online, Big Country Book Club. You can visit us: www.facebook.com/BigCountryBookClub
This blog is also published under the author's website
www.banafshehserov.com.au
If you wish to be included in our 'My 3 Tips' blog, please send your topic to yourbookshopb@iinet.net.au for consideration
If you wish to be included in our 'My 3 Tips' blog, please send your topic to yourbookshopb@iinet.net.au for consideration
