Heinlein's Rules
July 23, 2008
Getting published requires a lot of hard work and self-discipline. A long road runs between having an idea for a story and actually seeing it on a bookstore shelf or within a magazine’s covers.
Science fiction great Robert Heinlein said writers only needed to follow five simple steps to ensure they were published authors. These steps since have been coined “Heinlein’s Rules”. Heinlein often joked that he had no qualms about sharing these “secret” steps as most people lacked the self-discipline to actually work through each one.
The rules are:
n Rule One - You Must Write
n Rule Two - Finish What Your Start
n Rule Three - You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order
n Rule Four - You Must Put Your Story on the Market
n Rule Five - You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold
Hugo winner Robert J. Sawyer once wrote that if you started with a hundred people who wanted to be published, fully half of them would give up writing at each step. By the time you got through Rule Five, that would leave just three of the original hundred still writing!
The moral is if you want to become published, you must stick it through the entire process. Don’t give up – that, after all, is the quickest way to remain unpublished.
You Do It
Look back at one the many pieces you’ve written for the “You Do It” section. Each of the exercises were designed to help you better understand and master a specific element of fiction but never to write an entire story. Choose one of those pieces and continue writing it as a story by at least doubling its length.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality. (c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
getting published, revising, submitting your story
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Manuscript editors
June 25, 2008
You’ve finished your novel or short story but are beginning to think that maybe someone else should look it over before you send it off. You do an Internet search and find Web sites for manuscript editors – also known as book doctors - who will proofread and critique your manuscript for a fee.
So is a manuscript editor necessary?
First, some full disclosure: I offer my own manuscript editing service.
Having said that, for many writers having someone else look at your novel or short story is a necessary step to getting it in shape before sending it to a literary agent or editor. For beginning writers, an outside editor is a useful step in helping develop your craftsmanship. After all, no apprentice becomes a master without a mentor. Unfortunately, many editors and publishers just don’t have the time to serve in that role. A manuscript editor can help fill that need.
Many writers simply don’t need manuscript editors. They’re understand punctuation, grammar, mechanics and the art of storytelling well enough that a book doctor at best simply will point out what they already know or would have caught on their next draft. Many writers simply could turn to a friend or colleague who could provide an excellent read, or they might attend a writing workshop. So, which kind of writer are you? You need to make an honest self-assessment of your skills and talent.
Often the reason a writer seeks out a manuscript editor is because a literary agent or publisher recommends it. The agent can’t sell the book in its current condition or a publisher wants to print a book can’t in its current form (many publishing houses don’t retain editors, or if they do, the editors are overloaded with work). If agents and publishers do make such a recommendation, by all means follow up on it – it means you’re very close to getting in print.
What keeps most writers from using a manuscript editor is the cost. Most charge by word or page. For a 75,000-word novel, be prepared to pay a few hundred dollars for the close edit and critique. That’s beyond the reach of most single moms, college students and many others who hope to turn writing from a hobby to a profession. So you have a decision to make: Do you tighten your belt now with hope of book sales later, or do you wait it out and see if someone else will pick up the book (or your next one)?
When selecting a manuscript editor, keep this in mind:
n Be careful of those book doctors who also are literary agents or publishers (or both) - That represents a significant conflict of interest. It’s also a great money-making racket for a some.
n Don’t pay fees to a literary agent or a publisher for a referral – or vice-versa, when the manuscript editor receives money for referring you to an agent or publisher - That’s called a kickback, and it’s not giving you an honest appraisal of where to send your manuscript so it can be published.
n No manuscript editor ever should guarantee publication. - That’s a decision only a publisher can make.
Here’s a link that lists literary agents and publishers with questionable practices, especially regarding manuscript editing.
You Do It
Look back at an unpublished short story or chapter of a novel you’ve written. Now read a published short story or novel chapter. What qualities does the published work possess you’re your piece lacks? Now rewrite your short story or novel chapter to correct for those missing...
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book doctors, literary agents, revising
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Get-it-in-the-mail syndrome
June 17, 2008
You’ve written a science fiction story and decide it’s time to let the world see it and your genius. You’re now on your way to the mailbox to send off that piece.
Whoa, mister!
Before sending any piece, make sure you’ve done more than just write the piece. Revising almost always is a key step on the way to publication.
When writers are so eager to submit their story for publication that the work isn’t revised, they suffer from “get-it-in-the-mail syndrome”. This term was coined by CSFW’s Sari Boren. It’s a term that sometimes pops up during critiques of science fiction works.
A special form of this syndrome is the “grouper effect,” in which participants in a writer’s workshop do not adequately revise their work because they’re eager to submit to the group for review. CFSW’s Alan Jablokov coined this term. You want to revise your work, however. The competition for the limited magazine spots and novels that will be published is high. Often perfectly good stories are passed over. To give yourself the edge, you want to make your story as perfect as possible. That doesn’t mean you never submit your piece because it’s always in the state of being rewritten, but it does mean that you shouldn’t just rip off a piece and ship it off to an editor. It’s a rare story, indeed, that is perfect after the first draft.
You Do It
Look at one of the pieces you’ve written for a previous “You Do It” section that you are particularly proud of. Reread the piece, editing it for the obvious spelling, punctuation and capitalization mistakes but also for weak descriptions, superfluous wording and other pitfalls we’ve discussed so far in this blog. Visit my
Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
publication, revising, submissions
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