There are similarities between getting published and winning the Super Bowl.  Bear with me.  Let me explain what they have in common.

• Talent.  Whether you’re an experienced quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger or a relative newcomer like Aaron Rodgers, you aren’t going to make it to the Super Bowl without natural talent.  The same can be said about writing.  You may have a passion for writing, but without talent, without knowing how to structure a sentence, increase tension and keep the reader interested, your manuscript is never going to get out of the slush pile.
• Persistence.  Most NFL players don’t start there.  There’s high school and college play before selection to the draft.  If they can’t perform, they’re traded or sent to minor league teams or let go.  All of that can be discouraging.  Persistence goes hand-in-hand with talent in opening doors.  The same can be said for writers and publication.  I’ve known writers who’ve written for years before publication and others who’ve gone for over a decade between published novels, but they keep on submitting to agents and editors.  With persistence, they’ve been published and continue to be.
• Competition.  Each year, over 175,000 books are published.  That’s 479 a day or 19 an hour.  The advancement of the digital world, epublishing and self-publishing will push those numbers higher.  Everyone thinks they have a book inside them, and if they finish a manuscript, they’ll be competing with your story.
• Coaching.  In football, the decisions of the various coaches contribute to the success of the team.  In writing, the input of critique partners, contest judges and agents contribute to the improvement of your manuscript.  Listen to the advice of the more experienced.
• Luck.  Yes, it does play a part.  A missed catch, the wrong call, the time left on the clock can influence the final outcome of the game.  In writing, in might be submitting the right concept at the right time.  It might be a chance meeting at a writing conference that leads to a request.  Cosmic forces shouldn’t be overlooked.

Whatever the outcome of Super Bowl XLV, remember the lessons learned on the football field and apply them to your road to publication.

Cheryl

For those who don’t know, I (Cheryl) write under the pseudonym Cheryl Sterling (my grandmother’s maiden name.)  I’ve just contracted “Tall, Dark and Slayer” with Champagne Books, an e-publisher, for a January 2012 release.

Because what we do best at writerslikeme is write about writing, I’m inviting you to join me on the road to publication of TDS.  Yes, it does take a long time to be published after the offer is made, and over the next twelve months or so, I’ll open that window and let you see what I’m going through.

Yesterday, I signed and mailed out the contract, giving Champagne all sorts of rights and permissions in exchange for certain promises (TDS is an original work of art, I will meet certain deadlines, and I will apply for and give them a copy of the copyright.)

I also sent out a marketing sheet (legal name, address, phone #, etc; the blurb, a teaser excerpt) and the copy art sheet which included descriptions of the hero and heroine.  Because I always scrapbook my characters before starting a story, I made copies and included them in the package.  My scanner has gone wonky and jenga’d the images in Word and CoolIris, a program I didn’t know I had, added random arrows and lines.  It was easier to make a copy and drive to the post office.

Although I have a Facebook account under my own name, I activated one for Cheryl Sterling and sent out mass invitations to my contacts.  I’ll aggressively friend friends as I start marketing.  In the meantime, I’m waiting for my assigned editor to contact me on revisions.

I’ll blog as developments arise.  Feel free to ask questions along the way.

Here’s a picture of Betty Banks, my heroine, as I saw her:

Take care,

Cheryl

What if you got points for writing and earned publication?

What a concept!  What if you earned publication based on a rewards system?  Why not?  I earn points for pumping gas for my car, for clicking on links, even for keeping a nice balance in my checking account (though the credit union failed to tell me what the points earn and I have yet to see an extra deposit.)  Why not apply the same principle to the publishing industry?

Chime in if you disagree with my point system, they’re entirely off the cuff:

10 points for every rough draft completed

50 points for each polished manuscript

10 points for each submission sent to an editor or agent

5 points for each rejection received

20 points for each request for a partial

Of course, you’ll have to enter the school of hard knocks and earn your final acceptance, but this weeds out those who aren’t serious about writing (check out http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/ for prime examples)  Through the experience, you’ll have a chance to perfect your craft.  Perseverance will earn you publication.

Now, we still have to invent the software to track your transactions, but I have great faith in Google, Microsoft, Apple and other unnamed geniuses.  Hey, there’s a niche that needs filling!

How many points do you think would earn a published book?  200?  More?  Less?

Keep safe,

Cheryl