The Starter Guide for Professional Writers: How to Write and Market Your First Published Stories

The Starter Guide for Professional Writers contains everything to know so that you can begin earning money for your writing. Ten chapters address every stage of writing, revising, releasing, and promoting your first (or second, or third) published story, including what you need to: Defeat writer's block and finish your story Revise to make the strongest manuscript possible Find markets for your writing and keep track of your submissions Concisely and engagingly describe your story to agents, editors, and readers Query agents, submit to a small press, or self-publish Avoid scammers disguised as agents and publishers Advertise your work with everything from an author's website (and learn who actually reads your blog!) to promotional bookmarks with the help of a full marketing plan The Starter Guide offers an on-the-ground view of publishing and focuses on using inexpensive resources (after all, writers should make money off their writing, not pay for it!). Covering everything from how best to use a thesaurus to how to handle editor deadlines, its holistic perspective builds skills writers will use at every stage of their careers."