Getting Lucky

Yes, there are steps to follow to get published.
No, you’re not going to like all of them.

If there’s one thing I’ve come to understand more than anything else about getting published traditionally, it’s this: there are, without a doubt, steps you can follow to make it happen. You need to:

1.  Write - As the incomparable Jane Yolen always says, “the most important step to becoming a writer can be summed up as “B.I.C. – Butt in Chair”.)

2. Join a critique group – Find people who are at or above your level and have them give you honest feedback on your works in progress. Family members or non-writers who just tell you “it’s great” are fantastic for your ego, but do nothing for your career.

3.  Engage in social media – There are all sorts of virtual writers events online and all over social media. These are great ways to push yourself, broaden your coalition of like-minded people and, in some cases, even get discovered.

4.  Attend conferences – if they’re affordable and nearby, conferences allow you to become part of the publishing real world in a meaningful way, and meet fellow aspiring writers, published authors, agents, and even publishers. Putting faces to names is a great way to get yourself out there.

5.  Get an agent – One day, you’ll want to sign with an agent who shares your vision for your career, and “gets” your work. Note: If any agent asks you for money upfront, IT’S A SCAM.

6.  Get a publishing contract – With or without an agent, one day you’ll sign a contract to get your book out in the world.

So that’s the list. Easy right? Of course not. Because here’s the difficult part: SOMEWHERE in that list (it can happen at any of the steps, but it has to happen somewhere), there’s another step that has to occur:

~ Get a lucky break

I believe with every fiber in my being that the only difference between me and thousands of other writers who haven’t yet been published is that my lucky break happened. For me, it was meeting the right publisher at a writer’s retreat, at the right time. And I’m willing to bet that, no matter how successful the author, their careers started with a lucky break too.

Now let me be clear, I am not saying that getting published is only about luck. Far from it. Instead, luck is what puts you in the position for something great to happen.  Your work is what takes you the rest of the way.

My aunt (a published author in her own right) is a career counselor who talks about something called “planned happenstance.” It means doing everything you possibly can so that, when something fortuitous happens, you’ll be able to grab that opportunity and not let go.

This is why I put up that list, even with the “lucky break” lurking beneath the surface. While I do believe every author needs a hand up at some point, they need to have good work to show when it happens.

So keep writing, keep editing, keep improving. One day, you’ll get a chance, and you don’t want to let it pass by when it happens.