Getting Published Tip: Put Your Work Out There

Welcome to our new series! We discussed Networking Tips in January, and this month, we’re moving on to tips on Getting Published. This is the question we ALWAYS get from writers: How do I get an editor to really look at my work? There’s the tried and traditional method of submitting to publishers, of course. And you want to do that the right way. And then there are some other possibilities that will put you in a position to get editors to notice you. We discuss both the traditional and the off-the-beaten-path possibilities in one of our ebooks, and this month we’re going to share excerpts from the book on Tuesdays. On Thursdays, we’ll have a follow-up post sharing new anecdotes or further thoughts. We hope you enjoy!

Here we go!

Excerpted from Getting Published: How to Access Editors:

Imagine sharing some of your writing online, and it’s so fabulous that an editor approaches YOU! This, of course, is a long shot, and it’s almost always totally unexpected by the writer. But it does happen. Here are just two examples from writers we know:

Sarah’s most recent nonfiction title, BUGGED

Sarah Albee (this is her second mention in this guide—can you tell she’s very clever about finding ways to build relationships with editors?) posted a Daily Fact geared toward middle grade readers five days a week on her blog, History from the Bottom Up. An editor liked these, and Sarah earned a book contract for WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? (Walker/Bloomsbury)–a kind of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! for history. She says, “That deal sort of fell out of the sky! It was also nice, because blogging every day, though fun, is a lot of work, and I have had days when I’ve wondered if it’s really worth it. Now I think it is–plus I really love to do it.”

For more information on this tactic and some off-the-beaten-path journeys to book publication, you can buy our Kindle ebook ($2.99). To read a bit more about the book itself, just click here to visit the book’s page on our site.

And for a good book specifically about sharing your creative work, check out Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered, by Austin Kleon. That’s not a book specifically for children’s writers–or even writers specifically–but it might open you up to feeling good about sharing your work, even without any kind of guaranteed return.