Wordpreneur.com

BY MARK BARNES

Do you want to get something published? An article, a non-fiction piece, a short story, a children’s book, the great American novel? What are you waiting for? You may be answering that it’s just too competitive. Competition in the writing industry is fierce, no doubt, but many good writers have piles of work collecting dust in a box, sitting in the corner, or in file upon file, tucked away in a desktop PC. You may be one of them, and their problem and yours is not the competition. It’s the approach.

Ten years ago, publishing anything from a 500-word article to a suspense/thriller was a cumbersome task. The problem was the overwhelming procedure of querying an editor, waiting for a response to the query, tossing aside numerous rejections, then sending off your work after the query. Then, someone actually asked to see the work, only to decide they didn’t like it, after all. All of this might take a total of four months, and all you have to show for your efforts is frustration and disappointment.

Many people, some very good writers, simply give up. Today, we live in the electronic age, and the process for writers has become amazingly simple; it’s just that most writers still don’t realize it. One incredible tool can change your approach to submitting and, ultimately, publishing your work. All writers need Writer’s Market - not the old hard back book, but the online version with the same service.

Writer’s Market now contains more than just addresses and phone numbers. The most valuable additions are website and email addresses. Best of all, the majority of publishers and agents accept queries via email. In fact, many publishers and agents will take emails of your actual work, from article to novel. Plus, at the click of a mouse, you can locate agents and publishers of any genre and location.

Imagine spending one day on your computer, sending 50 to 100 emailed queries and submissions of your writing to literary agents and publishers. Many will reply the same day or within one week. You don’t need a hard copy or an envelope or a stamp. The electronic age has created incredible new opportunities for writers. So, dust off those old manuscripts, subscribe to Writer’s Market, and get your work out there.

It worked for me. My novel, The League, sat in a box for nine years. I followed the above procedure, and received a publishing contract in less than one month. Now, I’m working on novel number two.

Mark Barnes is the author of the novel, The League, the first work of fiction, a suspense thriller, based on fantasy football.

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