Sundays for Writers

I enjoyed yesterday's session with the Guelph Write Now group. The guest speaker was Sarah Totton who talked about the "rules" for becoming a professional author.  Sarah has compiled the following list using her own experience and suggestions from Robert A. Heinlein and Robert J. Sawyer.

• Write.
• Finish what you write.
• Send out what you write.
• Keep sending it out until it sells.
• Keep writing new work.
• Don't quit.

Other suggestions from Sarah...

• Treat writing like a job, not a hobby.
• Schedule time and set deadlines.
• Learn to work independently (not to external deadlines or peer pressure)
• Always READ the market's submission guidelines.
• Always FOLLOW the submission guidelines.
• Use the following free online market lists: Ralan and Duotrope.
• Buy US stamps from the Postmaster in any U.S. City. Sarah uses the following: Postmaster, Rockville MD 20850, USA.