Getting Started - what can I do right now?
- Get going at the business of writing. So many of us say that we'd love to write but the fear of rejection is holding us back. Remember the catch-phrase "Feel the fear and do it anyway!" What's the worst that can happen?
- Don't let the first rejection send you scuttling away from the computer. Maybe you're focusing on the wrong thing. Perhaps you're struggling with an exhausting novel when the short story medium might really be your forte. Magazine writing, for instance, is gratifying in that you see the fruits of your labours on paper every month. A novel, on the other hand, is a long-winded and sometimes tedious affair!
- Think of yourself as a writer - not just a scribbler. Many renowned writers started out with rejection after rejection but their belief in themselves as a writer kept them at it. Look at JK Rowling! You could be the next big thing.
- Put yourself out there. Just because there isn't a tome the size of War and Peace in your notebook doesn't mean that you're not a writer. Look at all the other talents you have and use them in your writing career. Are you working as a Vet? Perhaps you could write a pet-care column for your local newspaper. Or a health-related column for a magazine if you're a nurse or doctor. Maybe you're a good old fashionista (no qualifications needed) and you could offer to review boutiques for a fashion magazine.
- Be bold. Appreciate your own knowledge and approach a publication with your idea - he who does not ask etc . . .
- Start small - even offering to do the monthly newsletter for the local soccer or GAA club will give you experience on laying out a piece and meeting a deadline.
- Most writers are book-worms. If you're an avid reader, why not offer to do Book Reviews for a local paper?
- Enter competitions - the idea of letting anyone else see your work is daunting but competitions are an anonymous way getting an appreciation of your work.
- Use the Internet. Typing in a few buzzwords like "writing competitions" or "publishers" can open up a whole new world of information. There's no point in having a fabulous manuscript in the drawer if you don't know who to send it to. An excellent Romantic novel, for instance, will go in the bin if it lands on the desk of a publisher who only deals with crime-writing or biographies.
- Don't be daunted by the idea of having to do extensive research for your novel or short story. Write about what you know - childcare and mothering, aspects of your job (without upsetting your boss or clients!), your hobbies (hill-walking, gardening, hang-gliding, whatever) or even your own life story. Things that are commonplace to you might make scintillating reading for someone else.
- Don't keep putting it off until you have a proper study, a state-of-the-art computer, free time etc. Anyone can write, even if they have to go to the local internet café for an hour when the kids are at school or wait until their husband comes home from work to share his lap-top. You can write on the train or when the kids are in bed and often it's the greatest therapy that you can get for free.
- Join a writers group if you're feeling isolated in terms of your writing. It can be great to meet like-minded people who will support your goals and with whom you can share ideas and information. It also make writing a more sociable occupation.
- Don't depend on everyone else's approval. Often, it's a case of you being a maverick with a whole new concept that will be snapped up by a forward-thinking publisher. Allowing dominant friends or writing colleagues to overly-criticise your work can dilute it so that it no longer resembles your own unique style. Yes, it's very helpful to fit neatly into a particular genre but you also want to avoid being a carbon-copy of the big players in an already saturated market.
- Be yourself. Write to your own style and on the subjects with which you're most comfortable. You don't need to imitate someone else - many successful writers ply their trade as outsiders for years before being "discovered" and are now household names. You don't have to be like everyone else.
Useful websites, addresses and books
Irish Writer's Union/ Irish Writers Centre
19 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
iwu@ireland-writers.com
Ph. 01 8721302
€25 to join - monthly newsletter with details of writing competitions, events etc.
The Writer's Handbook
Barry Turner
Macmillan
(Easons)
Gives the full list plus contact details of Irish and UK agents and publishers
How to write and sell your first novel
Oscar Collier with Frances Spatz Leighton
Writer's Digest Books
Excellent advice on how to present manuscripts, seek agents etc
www.writeon-irishgirls.com
"Home of Irish women writers on the web"
(Register to the website to avail of the full service)
Great for tips on writing, events, book reviews, author websites and author interviews
Fish Publishing
Fish Publishing is an independent publishing company, founded in 1994. It aims to enable writers to have their work published in book format. The annual Fish International Short Story Prize has become an established event on the literary calendar.
Fish Publishing also has other competitions - the One Page Story Prize, which is run annually, and the Short Histories Prize and the Unpublished Novel Award, which were held in 2005.
To contact Fish Publishing:Postal: Fish Publishing, Durrus, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland.
email: info@fishpublishing.com
Munster Literature Centre
The Munster Literature Centre, Frank O'Connor House, 84 Douglas Street, Cork City,
Irelandmunsterlit@eircom.net
Phone: ++ 353-(0)21-4312955