The REAL Secret to Getting an Agent/Publisher

For a whole lot of years, I would submit my stuff to agents and publishers and my thoughts were always that I just wasn’t "lucky" enough to break into publishing. In my gut, I knew that the short story or the novel I was submitting was not in top form, but I assumed that the agent or editor at the publishing house I was querying would look past that and see me for the potentially awesome writer I could be. The publishing industry doesn’t work that way and sorry, but luck has nothing to do with it. Well, it can, but that percentage is so low it doesn’t even count for the purposes of this post today. Don't think either that getting published isn't going to happen because you don’t know the right people or you're not a celebrity. Getting an agent or a publisher is easy IF *drumroll please* YOU WRITE A GOOD BOOK. That's it. It's that simple. Agents are dying to find the next J.K. Rowling or Stephen King, they WANT your submission to be good, they live to find the next break-out writer that will make them millions. Without writers there would be no agents or publishers…is this making sense? When you write something good, and a "good" concept is matched by "good" writing, you will get an agent and the book will be sold. Change your mind set. I'll admit it took me 20 years of writing before that sunk in. I was cynical about the process. Why am I not able to secure an agent, I've been writing practically all my life? Short answer, it just wasn’t good enough writing. Thankfully I kept writing and writing and writing in the meantime, years and years and years. With everything you write, your writing gets better and better. At the same time as you are writing for the sake of becoming a better writer, read all the books and online articles you can find that teach you how to make your craft better. The How-To books – READ THEM! Learn about what they teach you regarding character development, plotting and pacing, self editing. There really is a method to this creative madness.