1. If you want to be published you have to learn how to write. One of the first things people ask me at conventions and signings and online is, "how do you get published?" This is the wrong question. It is not about how to get published. Far, far, FAR more important is, "how do you write." The problem? How to get published is an easy thing to answer. There are specific steps that nearly anyone who's published takes that leads to a book deal. But the number one step for every single person published is "write a book people want to read," and so the real question people should be asking is, "how do you write?" But, of course, there is no one answer to that, and that is a far, far more complicated question. But that's the question you should be asking first. 

2. It is unreasonable to expect the first thing you write to be published. No one ever expects a painter's first painting to be sold for a million in a museum. No one expects the first song some kid bangs out on the piano to put him in the symphony. Even if you go to school for something artistic, there's this idea of the "starving artist," where the artist is struggling to break in. Except when it comes to books. The first thing out of most people's mouths after you tell them you wrote a book is, "when will it be published?" Falcon punch these people in the throat and tell them to calm the heck down. Art requires practice. Sure, some people get lucky. Some people also win the lottery. And even the lucky ones who get their first book published still need practice to edit it, to write the next book, and so on. 

3. Just because you write something doesn't mean it has to be published. Even people who get the first book they ever write published will, most likely, have something that's rejected and unpublished. I know several authors whose first book was published, but then whose second, third, and so on, books were rejected. It doesn't mean you're a failure if you want it to be published and it's not. It only means that you wrote something, it was practice, now it's time to write the next thing.

I also know people who are too scared to start writing because they're afraid the thing they write won't be good enough for publication. Everyone I know who has maintained this attitude is still not published. They still don't have a finished manuscript. Either they never wrote it, or they wrote it and they're editing it to death, to perfect it. Don't be one of these people. Write. Write it the best you can. If it sells, great. If not, write the next thing. Don't stagnate because of fear.

4. If you want a career in writing, you need to write more than one book. Unless you're Harper Lee. Harper Lee made it out okay with just To Kill a Mockingbird. But you're not Harper Lee. Evaluate how you're spending your time. Evaluate whether or not the time you've invested so far into an idea is worth it. 

In YA, the expectation for a traditionally published author is about a book a year. There are exceptions, certainly, on both ends of the spectrum. But I have pretty much always given myself about a year to write and sub a book, becuase from the start, I knew that was the career I wanted. I wanted to be a career author in traditional YA publishing, so I practiced writing under the schedule of a book a year. This meant when, after a year passed and the book wasn't sold...it was time for me to move on. Try writing the next novel. 

This sounds harsh--and it is--but part of the reason why it sounds harsh is because of something known as "sunk costs." I'll talk more about that later, but what I mean by that is that you've sunk a lot of your time and energy into something, and you want to see it pay off. You can't let go of a book because you've invested so much time into it that the idea of it not being "successful" makes you feel bad about the energy and resources you've already funneled into it. Here's the thing: there are no sunk costs in writing. You have invested energy and resources into something, but it's not wasted just because it's not published. 

5. You and your writing is valuable. Here is a thing publication gives people: validation. Before publication, you feel like your writing isn't good enough. It's not valuable. Publication means that someone else looked at what you wrote and considered it valuable. That validation is a powerful feeling. 

It's also bullshit. 

You and your writing is valuable, regardless of publication. One of the greatest thing a human being can do is create soemthing, and when you write a book, you create something. It's value isn't in publication--it's not in other people saying it's worthwhile. The value of your book is in you realizing it's worthwhile. As writers, we often tie our own self-worth into our creative work. It's not something we can help or change. But we can change the idea that other people  get to tell us if our work and our selves are valuable. Publication is not the only measure against which something is ascribed value. There is value in the creation, in the art, and in you.

5. Life experience is as important as writing practice. I am harping on a lot about practice, and that is part of what it takes to tell a good story. But the other part is finding out what you want to say, and you find the words and the stories that need to be said through life experience. A life lived well--or at least fully--is one of the greatest things a writer can have. 

This doesn't mean you need to do extreme things. But it means...discovery. Discover as much as you can about as much as you can. Don't limit yourself to doing and learning about the things you like the most. Try something new and alien. Specifically attempt to do something that makes you afraid or uncomfortable. Seek out people beyond your own friend circle. Read a book you wouldn't naturally pick off the shelf. Study the subject you ignored in high school. Go to a section in the library you've never been before. 

As a writer, you're constantly seeking ideas for stories. Even when you're not conscious of it. You never know when something will spark an idea. So go out and find the things that will. 

6. If you have something to say, say it. But don't preach. A book without a point rambles. A book that rambles is boring. Find the beating heart of your story. Make that shine through in every part of what you write. 

Don't cram it down the reader's throat, and don't preach. Make the story alive by electrifying the heart. You're making a Frankenstienian monster here, but you're not trying to tell it what to do.

7. Two of the most important things you can have as a writer--or a person--is passion and confidence. If you love what you're doing, it shows. Love the story, and the story...well, it won't always love you back, but it'll be much better if you love it. Hate it, and the reader will hate it. Have passion for what you create. If you don't have passion, don't bother creating it.

Sure, sometimes writing gets hard. Sometimes I'd rather bang a hammer on a nail than write one more word. But even when those hard-writing times come, you still have to, at some level, have passion for what you're creating, or there's just no point. 

And have confidence. A little bit of healthy fear is good. You should be concerned that you won't write the story well enough. But you have to have enough confidence in yourself to at least try.

8. A book is only half of "what you say." The other half is "how you say it." Both are important. Don't ignore either. Whatever story you're writing, it's been written before. You may not know it--you probably don't--but trust me, it's been written before. And someone hearing about your book is going to call you on it, or you'll discover a story too similar to yours, or something. Don't worry. There are eighty-million Cinderella tales in print and eighty-million more coming. The thing that makes your story so unique? Shakespeare probably did it already, and if he didn't The Simpsons did. 

No one cares. Write your story anyway. The thing that makes it unique is not just the content, but the way the story is written.

This also means that your story has two parts: the idea and the style. You may have a great idea, but if the style's not there, no one will read it. To be successful in writing, you need to not only have a good story, but a good way to tell that story. 

9. Not every idea is good. If part of the formula for a good story is how you tell it, the other is the idea. And...not every idea is good. I have written a few books myself that are technically good--the story is told in an engaging way, the characters all act the way they should, all the pieces are there. But the fundamental part of the story--the main idea behind the plot...it's not good. Or, rather, it's not good enough. To be published means you need to be marketable, and to be marketable means you have to have an idea for a story that sells.

This means you might write a beautiful love story about vampires, but if you approach publishers after Twilight, it may not be marketable and it won't be picked for publication. 

This means you might have a beautifully written story where every line reads like poetry, but if the plot isn't engaging, it may not be marketable and it won't be picked for publication. 

This means you might have a good idea and good writing skills to tell the idea, and you've written a good book that is on par with other books published, but the audience to read your novel isn't that large--it's too niche, or too edgy, or too something--and it may not be marketable and it won't be picked for publication. 

Some good books are not ever published. Some bad books are. It's all subjective, and at the end of the day, even if you've done everything right, sometimes it's just not going to happen. 

10. Stick in the game long enough, and all bad things will come your way. But all good things will, too. If you're looking for a career in publication, that means you're in it for the long haul. Being in it for the lon haul means that you're going to likely experience all the ups and downs of publication. You'll be rejected. A lot. You may find an agent; you may have to fire an agent and find another one. You may find a book deal; you may have the book deal cancelled. A bookstore won't pick up your book--or it will. You may hit the NY Times bestseller list, or your book may flop. You'll have a book cover you hate, and one you love--maybe even for the same book. You'll get fan mail and hate mail. You'll love an editor; you'll hate an editor. Stay in publishing long enough, you'll get it all. It's a career. If you're at the beginning of the career, it may feel like everything is the way it's always been, and any change is permanent. It's not. Publication fluctuates--your career will fluctuate. Just stay in the game. You'll see every side of the career possible if you're in it long enough.

And the reason for that is: you cannot control publishing. You simply can't. Publishing is not in any one person's control.

The only thing you control is your writing. So focus on that, make that the best it can possibly be. It's the only thing you can control, and the only thing worth investing your heart in.