A Friend’s Thoughts on How to Get Published
ByAt first glance, this article may not seem like it is about “how to get published “. Soon you will realize that it is about being published, although probably more about life. I was the kid who sat in the back of the room, right next to the exit door, my textbook propped up in front of me in an attempt to hide what I was doing. I was always doing something other than the assignment. I was working on my latest masterpiece – a poem, a song, a play, or a short story. One day I will write symphonies, movies, novels, and yes, publish a book! Sometimes I would be caught by the teacher who would confiscate my masterpiece, crumple it up, throw it in the garbage, and send a note to my parents who would then punish me by making me stay in my room. That was fine with me since I always had plenty to do in there. I had comics, books, a radio, a record player, a little TV, paper, pencils, toys and a very active imagination.
Although I have never published a book, I have been published in my college’s newspaper and literary magazines. I won two awards – one for a humor column and one for a crummy poem that I had put virtually no effort into. My psychology, philosophy, and creative writing classes in particular had required me to write in the first person. My observations, opinions, and memoirs earned me high marks on my assignments, and I had become quite adept at applying a humorous tone to even the most tragic of my life’s experiences. I had found my inner writer, and when I began working as an english tutor and writing coach at the college, I became passionate about trying to help other students to find theirs.
When my academic career came to an abrupt end, I feared that I would never write another word. I had no deadlines and no grade that I was trying to earn. I asked myself, ‘What is the point?’ However, I had become addicted to writing, and I missed the routine of sitting in front of the computer for an actual purpose other than deleting my spam and checking to see if I had any interesting new friends on any of my seventeen MySpace pages. More on social networks later. I gathered all of my essays and assignments from my Gordon Rule classes and all of my work that had been published in the school’s publications, gathered them into a folder on my flash drive, and named it “Material for My Book.” I now had plenty of time on my hands for personal creative projects, so I began to set about trying to finish some neglected musical projects and possibly assembling this collection by this inspired unknown writer into a book.
There are perhaps many schools of thought regarding the process of beginning the production of a book from its conception to its development, revision, final editing, submission, publication, and marketing. There is a method to every kind of madness. I am not a subscriber to any ‘school of thought.’ I am simply one who writes. I save everything, and there is certainly a method to my own madness.
In any industry, there are certain protocols that one must follow if one wishes to succeed. There are those who write as a profession. There are also those who write simply for the passion and the sheer artistry of it. The latter, which is the category into which many others and I are most appropriately and most unfortunately positioned, is known as the tortured soul/starving artist.
In an article entitled “So You Wanna Publish a Book”, the first area of focus is not on the writing of the book, but on the writing of a proposal followed by the process of acquiring an agent. This article provides a brief overview of the standard procedure toward becoming if not a best-selling author, at least one whose work is recognized and published.
My idealism hinders me from realizing the logic of such a method. In my idealist mind, this may be more suited to an established author, perhaps a professor, or an expert in a particular field or genre. The realist in me regards this information as a valuable device, which when applied, can possibly aid in the transcendence from the state of tortured soul/starving artist to published author. Maybe researching what others have done to get published is the best first step.
