The road to publication for the majority of writers is a long, painful and ‘subjective’ one (that word you’ll hear so often you’ll want to choke the person sitting next to you). You’re going to finish your novel and be so proud of it you might think you’ll be one of the lucky few to be published soon after. Sorry, but that only happens to people that sincerely go into it with absolutely no expectations, few intentions and maybe even low self-esteem about their writing skill (in other words, it is pure luck). Rarely will someone who thinks they just wrote ‘the next big thing’ break into the business quickly, if even at all. It’s a sad fact: chances are likely about 90% of us will never make a living by writing and even less of us will hit the big-time.

Why is that? And why am I being so damn negative by pouring vinegar on some of your wounds? Well, the reality of the business is harsh, yes, but the other reality is that it really doesn’t have to be that way and you really don’t have to be part of the statistic. It’s still unlikely any of us will be the next J.K. but I think the best ways to be sure you become a published author and at least be able to see your book on a shelf at Barnes & Noble someday are:

* Actually write a book. Do I really need to say that just talking or dreaming about it will never get it written? I didn’t think so.

* Read. Read. Read. A writer that doesn’t read is like {INSERT ANY WITTY SIMILE HERE – ALL WILL WORK}.

* Learn how to write properly. Just because you can tell a good story doesn’t mean you can write one.

* Get some non-biased feedback on your story (mom’s and husbands almost always either sugarcoat the truth, or are blinded by how beautiful you are). Join an online writers group that offers free critiques and accept their advice no matter how critical.

* Edit. Revise. Edit. I think 1 year of editing repeatedly is minimum.

* Edit and revise some more.

* Get your query and synopsis ready and by that I mean, be prepared to rather be doing something like getting a vasectomy from that guy that lives behind the 7 Eleven, or eating light bulbs. If the query/synopsis isn’t perfect (and this is the only case where ‘perfect’ does exist), you’re screwed.

* Subjective. Subjective. Subjective. (I’m just helping get you warmed up.)

* Not a good fit for us. Not a good fit for us. (Still helping get you warmed up.)

* Get in the habit of knowing that the unopened agent response staring at you from your inbox is a rejection. And when you do finally get your first send-me-more reply, expect that one to end up in the rejection folder, too.

* Ignore the urge to #1…whine to an agent about how many rejections you’ve received, and #2…tell an agent off even if you’re the best writer to come around since Stephen King or Neil Gaiman. They’ve heard it all before and anything more or less than a thank-you-for-your-time reply to a rejection makes you look bad. Even I am guilty of whining in my blog to an extent (and I have tough skin!), so I know how rejections can affect a person. Don’t let it get to you!

* Always write something else while submitting the one you finished. Start a new novel and keep the momentum. A finished book is not a vacation unless you’re Stephen King or Neil Gaiman, I suppose. A writer always writes and a successful writer usually has more than one published book under his belt.

* Never give up. This is most important, because it’s the one that separates born writers from phase writers. The majority of that negative list I began this post with (that 90% way up there) are of phase writers. They’re the ones that never get published because they let the road to getting published beat them down and they give up. Of course, that 90% also consists of the severely unlucky, the delusional and the successful dead (those that are discovered only after they’ve kicked the bucket).

I haven’t been published yet myself so I can’t give pointers beyond what I gave, but I can say that once you do finally get published, like with completing your book, it’s still not vacation time! It’ll be time to promote, promote, promote!