Having said all that, if you absolutely must write, if it is a burning need you cannot deny, then you should go for it with everything you have. Following are a few tips from me that may be of help.

Throw away all your fancy clothes. Keep one Sunday-go-to-meetin’ outfit, one evening dress, one pair of decent slacks for when you’re dying and need to see a doctor, and invest in stretchy, sloppy, comfortable clothes. Sweats, T-shirts. Holes are okay. No one will ever see you, and you’ll seldom be out and about. Get a simple haircut. Cancel all your ladies’ magazines. You’ll rarely have time to read them. Prepare to exercise as you never have before because you will sit two-thirds of your life, and every morsel of food you put in your mouth may go to fat. About once a year, you will have to go out in public, so set aside some money for counseling as well for when you come back down to earth and actually look at yourself in a mirror.

You still with me? Okay, I’m kidding. But there is a lot of truth in what I’m saying as well. You will need to exercise, and you will become something of a hermit, and you will need comfortable, loose clothing for those long hours at the computer. You will have days—possibly weeks—when you can’t remember what month it is or even what year it is if you’re writing historical fiction.

To get started, the first and most important thing you must do is to stop thinking of writing as this fun little hobby you have. You, my friend, are just as much of a writer as I am. You are one book away from stardom, and so am I. Or you may be one book away from total rejection. So am I. Getting published doesn’t give a writer a corner on success. Writing doesn’t suddenly become easy, either. I will admit I’ve learned a number of tricks over the years, but I still have my rough moments, and I’m still learning with every book I write. Set your work hours and honor them. Don’t toss them over for lunch with a friend. Make your appointments to accommodate that schedule. That’s what "real" writers do. You must also develop a deep respect for your "profession." If you don’t respect it, no one else will. Learn how to reply to the curious, who so often ask rude questions or are totally ignorant about publishing.

Question: Ah, so what do you write?

Answer: Women’s popular fiction.

Question: You mean those "bodice rippers?" Other common names are crotch novels, soft porn, cottage romances, sex books, sappy romantic fantasy, and, sadly, just plain romance. People have this mistaken perception that the books we love are all about panting and having sex. Obviously these people have never read modern-day romance- and possibly no other kind of book in the last decade. You must also be prepared for someone to annihilate your profession at unfair times, such as when your mouth is full of dental equipment and you can’t reply. You must not let individuals like this throw you off the track. Instead you must learn to deal with them in a positive, polite way, maintaining your dignity.

Another question: So, how much does it cost to get a book published?

You get the picture. You must feel proud of what you do and convey to imbeciles that they are imbeciles, ever so nicely. I am including family and friends in that statement. You must teach them to respect you as a professional, and the only way to do that is to be a professional and respect what you are trying to do. Some people will be bold enough to say, "But you haven’t sold anything yet." To them, reply, "When a law student passes the bar, must he get paid for his knowledge before he’s considered to be a bona fide lawyer?" When a doctor graduates from med school and has completed his internship, at what point does he become a real doctor? I am a writer. I just haven’t gotten paid for what I do yet. But, mark my words, I will.

Much of writing is about attitude. If you believe in yourself and respect what you are trying to do, that will come across to everyone around you, and more importantly, it will come across to you when you are tempted to watch television and eat popcorn instead of writing that chapter. If dressing up like an office secretary makes you feel professional, do that. If pasting your work schedule on the fridge makes you honor the hours, do that. I pasted a letter to myself above my computer, and I read it every morning. I can’t remember the words now. But it was something like, "I am a writer. I will sell a book. I will let no one interfere with my goal and make me fail." That includes phone calls from friends during your work hours. If they are real friends, and you tell them you will be working until two every afternoon, they’ll wait to call until three.

You must be prepared to have your work criticized by people without bleeding profusely and giving up. The work of "real" writers is criticized, and publishers sometimes reject it. Professional writers keep working. So must you. I once heard an author and friend speak about rejection. I’ll never forget what she said. "When you get a terrible rejection letter, focus on the nice things the editor said, even if it’s only, ‘Dear So-and-So.’" You absolutely cannot pin all your hopes on the reaction of one person, or several, and even more importantly, don’t pin all your hopes on one story. When you complete a piece of work and begin trying to sell it, don’t sit by the phone, chewing your nails. Start another project immediately. When the rejections start to roll in, and they may do so, (actually it’s almost guaranteed) you will be passionate about another story, and the negative responses will hurt a lot less.

That is not to say you should ignore the feedback of editors. If you receive feedback from an editor, remember this. She is very busy. Yesterday, my editor was so busy that her assistant called to give me a message, saying my editor would be at her desk until midnight. If a busy editor bothers to read your offering and takes time from her frantic schedule to give you any kind of feedback, she undoubtedly recognizes something promising in your work. Yeah, yeah, you say. But I’m serious. Here’s a story for you. When I crossed over from Harlequin Intrigues to single title historical, Comanche Moon, my first single title, was rejected by my present editor. She also rejected an earlier attempt of mine when I was pre-published. In that letter, she took the time to tell me my writing had a lot of promise and she hoped I didn’t give up. Many years later over lunch in a New York restaurant, when I was about to sell my first book to her publishing house, I couldn’t resist telling her about that rejection. She was a little embarrassed because she didn’t recall the rejection letter at all. For me, it was a landmark moment in my life as a writer. After I dried my tears over the rejection, I reread that one sentence many times, and I didn’t give up. As fate would have it, I ended up working with her later at two houses, and now it is my fervent hope that she never retires. She is a fabulous editor. Kudos to Ellen Edwards at NAL. She’s the best.

In short, I had my disappointments, and I had to learn my craft. So must you. If anything I’ve said sounds brilliant or profound, please know it’s not an original thought of mine. Everything I’ve said to you was once said to me. Among truly self-confident, accomplished, and successful writers, the motto often is, "Pass it on." I was blessed enough to come in contact with writers of that caliber. I cannot yet say I have reached those heights myself, but I’ve never forgotten all that others did for me, and I try to measure up to their example.

So, here I am. If you really, really want to be a writer, don’t give up. Go to writing conferences if you can afford to do so. Honor a writing schedule, even if it is after working all day and is a short amount of time. Do whatever you must to get in the right frame of mind to feel like a professional. If possible, join a constructive critique group. You will find other talented pre-published writers if you join writers’ groups or attend conferences, and these days, you needn’t even live in the same state. Via email, you can share your work with others, and they can share theirs with you. Just make sure that you don’t feel battered after a session. If you do, you have not found the group that is right for you.

Lastly, the most important thing I can tell you to do is write, write, write! As a pre-published writer, you can’t always sell an unfinished book, and you shouldn’t wish to do so. You have no idea if you have what it takes to write, "The End," until you’ve made the journey. And don’t pin all your hopes on that baby of yours. Remember, many mothers deliver one infant and soon become pregnant with another child they love just as much. Cultivate that attitude. I know very few authors who sold their first story without extensive revisions.

Good luck to you, my friends. If you have the passion, the determination, the backbone, and just a smidgeon of luck, you’ll make it. And one day, you’ll be offering the writing tips to other new writers who will keep this fabulous field filled with fresh talent.

Sincerely,
Catherine Anderson