Becoming an author is not easy. If you're reading this then you already know that. The good news is that there are plenty of resources available to help you. There are a million pieces of advice for you to sort through. Here are a few particularly helpful tips.
1) Write well - This is obvious but can't be said enough. There's a lot of competition in the writing world and if you're not one of the best you'll go totally overlooked.
2) Write often - The more practice you get writing the better you'll become, it's as simple as that. Some people are naturally good but nobody is born great, becoming great takes lots of hard work.
3) Write what you know - You'll probably hear this more than anything else. If you write about things you know about you'll have the research done already. This is flexible, you'll have to expand what you know as you progress, but if you try to sound like an authority when you're really not your readers will know.
4) Read - This is important. If you can't read, you can't write. You need to find authors and styles that you like so that you know what good writing is like. Likewise, if you read something you hate, you should be able to pick out what you don't like and avoid it in your own writing.
5) Know what you're good at - It's important to know your strengths when writing. If, for instance, you're really good at making an effective plot, then push yourself to keep getting even better. If you know you're good at it then there's no reason not to use your skills to their limits.
6) Know what you're not good at - Just like above, knowing your weaknesses is important. If there's something your bad at then focus on it and work on it. The bad aspects of any writing will jump out at least as much as the good.
7) Start small - Local periodicals, journals, newspapers and online blogs are all good places to build up a reputation. It's rare appear out of nowhere with a novel and get it published. Getting successful is a long path with many small steps along the way.
8) Expect (and accept) rejection - All writers, whether they're great or terrible, get rejected once in a while. The most important advice for any would-be author is just to persevere. Many editors will make notes specific to your piece to help you along even when the piece is rejected.
If you keep these few simple tips in mind you'll have all the most important tools to get started on your journey as an author. The only thing left to say is good luck!
1) Write well - This is obvious but can't be said enough. There's a lot of competition in the writing world and if you're not one of the best you'll go totally overlooked.
2) Write often - The more practice you get writing the better you'll become, it's as simple as that. Some people are naturally good but nobody is born great, becoming great takes lots of hard work.
3) Write what you know - You'll probably hear this more than anything else. If you write about things you know about you'll have the research done already. This is flexible, you'll have to expand what you know as you progress, but if you try to sound like an authority when you're really not your readers will know.
4) Read - This is important. If you can't read, you can't write. You need to find authors and styles that you like so that you know what good writing is like. Likewise, if you read something you hate, you should be able to pick out what you don't like and avoid it in your own writing.
5) Know what you're good at - It's important to know your strengths when writing. If, for instance, you're really good at making an effective plot, then push yourself to keep getting even better. If you know you're good at it then there's no reason not to use your skills to their limits.
6) Know what you're not good at - Just like above, knowing your weaknesses is important. If there's something your bad at then focus on it and work on it. The bad aspects of any writing will jump out at least as much as the good.
7) Start small - Local periodicals, journals, newspapers and online blogs are all good places to build up a reputation. It's rare appear out of nowhere with a novel and get it published. Getting successful is a long path with many small steps along the way.
8) Expect (and accept) rejection - All writers, whether they're great or terrible, get rejected once in a while. The most important advice for any would-be author is just to persevere. Many editors will make notes specific to your piece to help you along even when the piece is rejected.
If you keep these few simple tips in mind you'll have all the most important tools to get started on your journey as an author. The only thing left to say is good luck!