Victoria Ryan

Do you want to write?

I am always happy when people share their writing dreams with me and want to help as much as I can.  I do not have an inside track to agents or publishers but I can pass on the advice I was given and share some hints I've learned along the way. Here are some suggestions in no particular order of importance that should help.

• There's a plethora of information online but be sure you get it from the experts.Jane Friedman is tops in the publishing field and an excellent source for writing advice. www.janefriedman.com
• Writers Digest is another industry giant and excellent resource www.writersdigest.com
• Go the websites of respected authors and see if writing tips are offered
• See Writers' Musings (right column) for writing sources
• Join a writers group. If you don't know of one, ask your friends, librarian, bookseller, or teachers if they know of any Romance Writers chapters, Sisters in Crime chapters, or any other organziation
• Start a writers group; ask librarians if they know of anyone besides you who is looking for a group (that's how I met a fellow writer and we, with the help of a Barnes and Noble store manager founded the Mad Anthony Writers Conference in 2006
• Attend a writers conference. The resources I listed above are a good place to look;as is the search engine on your computer. Get your facts before you send anyone money, though. Three conferences that I know of personally are The Mad Anthony Writers Conference in Hamilton, Ohio--a very reasonably priced conference that has been rated Excellent 6 out of 6 years by both Presenters and Participants; The Antioch Writers Conference in Yellow Springs, OH and Crime Bake in Boston (love that name).
• See attachments below for excerpts from my writing columns about getting ideas; if spelling frustrates you, you'll enjoy the two articles about English and Spell Checkers 
• READ; the best way to know what is being published, what publishers are looking and to learn from others is to read.

If you have an idea or manuscript but don't know what to do next, I'd suggest a trip to the library.

• Go the Reference section and get the most Writers Market book. There are several: a general one; one for writing for children; one for poets; one for Christian writing. You can't check the book out so plan to stay at the library to do your research. The books will list general topic areas: children; political; paranormal and so on. Look for the category that best fits your manuscript or idea. Under that category you'll find a list of publishers who are interested in that topic. Next to the publishers name is a page number. Go to that page and read more about that publisher. How many words in the manuscript does the publisher want? Will the publisher accept a manuscript from you or only manuscripts submitted by agents? What will the publisher pay you if your manuscript is published? Soon you will have a list of publishers to contact. But before you do, take time to read (in that same book) how to submit a manuscript.

If you have other questions, please contact me.