First things first, I still consider myself new to the whole writing/publishing game. That is even though I have six short stories out with three different collections. I hope to make it big and think that I have learned somethings along my journey that are useful to all prospective writers and authors (not just me). Here are my five tips to becoming the successful literature magnate that you always wanted to be.

First of all, you need to get into the habit of writing a book. If you do not have the time or resources to write an epic novel, then don’t worry. No one starts off by writing 1000+ page books. Even J.K. Rowling, who is famed for writing longer novels of 700+ pages, started off with the 300-400 page Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I personally find that short stories are fulfilling and rewarding, in the sense that you can finish them easily and get your work out there. Poetry is another short medium which you can aggregate to form a collection. The point is that you need to write something to publish something; let’s start at that.

Secondly, pay attention to spelling and grammar. I know you may think that is the work of the editor, but no editor, publisher or audience member accepts work that is poorly written to begin with. That includes having too many spelling and grammar errors. I find that you should do the upmost, but know, when it is polished enough, an editor can help work out the kinks.

Also, you should understand the writing process. Do you want your work to be well-structured and well-written? Of course you do. So what you need to know is all that you have learnt in English, literature, reading, writing and language arts classes. If you have an English degree at university, chances are that you learned more. You do not need a degree to be a writer though, although that would be an added bonus.

In the publishing side of things, knowing your options is important. You can self-publish, meet vanity press or become traditionally published. Different people will say different things about these three options, but you should know that they’re at your disposal. Self-publishing has easy entry requirements, but you might need to pay for a cover, editing and other things yourself. Amazon has a self-publishing printing service called KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), which allows you to self-publish you work and earn money for free.

Traditionally publishing also offers free printing services, but you will earn less royalties from them. It is still useful to have a traditional publisher, because there are some big names out there who can help you gain much needed exposure. I’ll share more on that next.

Finally, marketing is a big part of an author/writer’s work life. You wrote a book. You published it. Now, you need to ensure that people find your book and that results in you making the sales that you need to earn a living. It is vital that you do so, because, without marketing, your book will be lost in a sea other books and the chances of you gaining a readership and fanfare will be very slim.