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Top Secret! The One-Year Path To Publication

by: Steven Barnes

There is a way to virtually guarantee your publication within a single year. No, it has nothing to do with self-publication. This path is not for dilettantes, and will push you to the limit, but it has worked for dozens of my students, and it will work for you.

It is based on writing principles first proposed by two giants in the publishing field, science-fiction writers Ray Bradbury, and Robert Heinlein, over thirty years ago. And no, you don�t have to be a science fiction writer. No matter what your ULTIMATE goal�novel, screenplay, playwright, or poet, you can adapt this method. It is designed to address literally every major problem you have or might encounter as a writer.

1) Write a story a week, or a story every other week.

2) Read 10X as much as you write.

3) Put your stories in the mail. Keep them in the mail until they sell.

4) Never re-write except to editorial request.

And there you go. Now let�s look back at the steps for a bit of further explanation.

1) Write a story a week, or a story every other week. These can be as short as you wish. No, it doesn�t matter if you want to write novels, or your ideas tend to emerge from your subconscious in long form. If you�re a newbie runner training for a marathon, you�d start by running around the block, wouldn�t you? You wouldn�t start by running twenty-six miles, that�s for sure! Everything you need to know to write a book is contained in a short story, and writing 100,000 words of short stories will improve your writing far more than that same 100,000 words devoted to a novel. Scriptwriting? Before you can write a script, you need to be certain you understand storytelling. I mean REALLY understand it, subconsciously. Short stories give you a chance to hone your skills. Poetry? Well, in this case, write a poem a week! Non-Fiction? Sure! Write an article a week!

2) Read 10X what you write. There is nothing sadder than a young writer who doesn�t read for fear of �contaminating his style.� This is complete self-delusion. A writer DESPERATELY needs to read everything she can get her hands on�and of the very best quality. Personally, I read one act of Shakespeare aloud each morning, to simultaneously improve my writing and speaking ability.

3) Put your stories in the mail. Every week, or every other week, one of your stories should be submitted to an editor who pays money for publication. Frankly, it doesn�t matter how much. Money is a very cold equation, something different from pats on the back, cheers, contributors copies or even awards. When an editor cuts you a check, there is a lack of warm fuzzy feelings, and a down-to-earth �will my readers like this� that is completely different from the accolades or criticisms of your writing group or class. THIS is the feedback you need: a check that clears the bank. Get your stories out! And web publication is just fine in this regard�as long as there is money. Even a penny a word�or less!--is just fine.

4) Don�t re-write except to editorial request. Once your story is finished and initially re-written, move on. Don�t re-write endlessly, trying to get it �perfect.� You�ll learn more by writing a new story than re-writing an old one endlessly.

If you�ll do this, I promise you your first sales within fifty stories. At the story a week level, that�s one year! Just one year from today, you could be a paid author. And for any real writer, that should be an idea exciting enough to keep them up late, and get them up early, typing away, knowing that that first acceptance check is less than 365 days way.

About The Author

NY Times Bestselling writer Steven Barnes has published over 3 million words of fiction, and wrote the Emmy-winning "A Stitch In Time" episode of the Outer Limits. He is the creator of the Lifewriting � performance system for writers. http://WWW.Lifewriting.biz.

This article was posted on November 28, 2005

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Writing Help for College Students
by: Tamara Owen

Your literature professor has asked you to write a 7-page essay comparing Medieval and Renaissance poetry; your economics professor wants 15 pages on how globalization is affecting the economy in three different countries; and your mathematics professor has forgotten this is a mathematics class, and wants 5 pages on the quadratic formula. And you have been staring at the computer screen for over an hour wondering how on earth you are going to do all of this in the next four days.

This is an all-too-familiar scene to many students. Many students learn of these large assignments at the beginning of the semester when they receive their class syllabi, and immediately forget about them because November seems like years away. Other students are busy with extracurricular sports, trying to adjust to being away from home for the first time, and other events and issues. Still other students are quite frankly terrified of the writing process, believing the blank page to be worse than their worst nightmare, and so these assignments get shoved aside to remain untouched until the last minute.

It is an interesting fact of college life that all students, regardless of major or discipline, are asked to write about their subject matter -- often quite extensively. While it is certainly important that all individuals be literate, and know how to read and write in a variety of capacities, styles, and genres, it is also the case that not everyone has to be a professional academic writer (www.korepetycje.com/join_us.html). Engineers need to know how to design bridges or better towel racks; pilots need to be able to take off and land safely and smoothly; and physicians need to be able to diagnose illnesses and injuries and to prescribe the correct medical interventions. None of these people needs to know how to write a term paper.

What, then, are the options for the poor student struggling in the first paragraph? What will happen to the student who is a prodigy on the piano but is facing failure because she cannot write 10 pages on Beethoven? What will happen to the next Frank Lloyd Wright who is stuck in his psychology seminar, unable to write a series of vignettes portraying various mental illnesses?

There are a few options. Most college campuses have writing labs, where many students are helped with researching and writing their papers. Many students form study groups, where they help each other through the tough assignments. Some students write their custom essays and term papers (see: http://www.korepetycje.com/indexam.html) and then pay an editor to polish them. Still others turn to professional writing services for assistance with their assignments. This is where services such as CustomPapers.com come in. We have a large staff of professional writers who specialize in writing papers about a wide variety of disciplines ranging from economics to ecology, marketing to Mozart, Hemingway to heart murmurs. We can also assist students with related projects, such as PowerPoint Presentations. In the many years of our existence, we have found tremendous success helping students with assignments of all sizes, all levels of difficulty, and all subjects.

Regardless of what type of help you choose, the important thing is that you get through college as quickly and effectively as possible. College is a step leading up to the rest of your life -- don't let a term paper be the skateboard in your path.

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