Your Path to Publication

I've always loved reading. Maybe because I grew up in a house filled with children. Mom had 9 of us and Grandma lived with us too. So, as you can imagine, Mom and Dad were always busy. 

Plus, we only had one television when I was a kid, and it was black and white. Okay, I know that dates me to nearly the Stone Age but it's true. And, in those days you had to find ways to entertain yourself.

And being nearly at the end of that long line of kids, I never got to pick the television shows we watched, unless I ran home from school and was the first into the house. Then, if I was lucky, I could catch the last fifteen minutes of Dark Shadows and Barnabus Collins. 

You might ask, "What does all that have to do with me getting published?"

And, I would have to say, "A lot!"

You have to be an avid reader to be a decent writer. And, even if you disagree with me on that one issue, you'd have to admit that if you read a lot, you at least have some concept of how words should be put together to tell a story and that definitely can't hurt with your writing. 

And, if you've always wanted to write a book, my best advice to you is to...start writing.

There are a lot of people who dream of becoming an author, but the first step is to work on perfecting your craft (aka writing).

Once you've worked on that angle of the pie, you need to do some research. Check out the best writing groups in your area and of course the best critique groups, agents, editors and publishing houses. 

You might not know where to begin looking, so I'm going to provide some helpful links and suggestions.

Manuscript Wish List: The Official Manuscript Wish List Website – #MSWL: What do you wish you had in your inbox?

Agent Query: https://www.agentquery.com/

Query Tracker: Literary Agents on QueryTracker

Directory of Literary Agents: USA Literary Agencies - Directory of Literary Agents

Another thing I would do is to track down blogposts and interviews your dream agent has done to learn more about this person who might become your literary partner for years to come.

Next, see if there are any conferences your dream agent has or will be attending in the future that you might be able to participate in.

These are a few websites, links and suggestions that will at least help get you on the "write" path to publication 

And, if you have any questions, just let me know and I'll see what I can do to help.