How to Get Published--Part I

Every time I give a talk, a beginning writer approaches me to ask, "How can I get my stories published?"

Today, anyone can easily get their words published in a blog, but if you want to get published by someone else (or at least read by more than your mother), then you need to start writing topics of interest to readers. Once editors and readers get to know and trust you, then you can start branching out with your own personal stories.

It is much easier to get non-fiction published than fiction. Sorry, but it’s true. But by no means should you give up if you believe in your story. For example, if you can tie your novel to a particular group of people, you’ll have a shot at getting it published or selling copies if you self-publish. My children’s novel, Ride a Horse, Not an Elevator, sells well to horse enthusiasts (even though it’s about my terror of horses), because it has “horse” in the title (it hasn’t caught on yet with elevator enthusiasts, however). I met a poet at a writer’s conference who is doing very well with his book of car poems because auto show attendees love to buy a book related to their special interest.

If you, Patch Readers, find a way to let me know you are interested (either send me an email or post a comment below, I will serialize my latest book, Lisa’s Guide for Writers: How to Get Published & Self-Published, right here on my Patch blog.  Lisa’s Guide for Writers is meant to be a starting point for you—it is based entirely on what has worked for me. I will share my experiences getting published and how my writing hobby eventually led to a career as a professional writer. I will also address the publishing process associated with short stories, non-fiction, children’s fiction and memoirs. Although I’ve never written an adult novel, many of the principles still apply. Self-publishing is an increasingly popular alternative, so I will discuss that option as well—especially since print-on-demand books can now cost nothing to setup.

(Please heed my disclaimer in the beginning of my book—don’t forget to get your own legal and tax advice, especially if you self-publish articles and books. You need to be careful about publishing stories about real people and you need to record income and collect and pay sales tax on books sold.)

What it took for me to finally become a published writer:

"Is this Lisa Saunders?" the caller asked.

"Yes," I said, irritated a telemarketer was interrupting me in the middle of writing a story featuring myself as the heroine. Recently recovered from years of writer’s block, I was on a roll and didn’t want to stop—despite the fact that I couldn’t get an editor to adore my work or even consider it.

Several months earlier I had sent my first story to Snooty Home magazine (name changed in case I ever work for them), thinking they’d be thrilled to get the first crack at my work—a humorous piece about what a slob I am and what it takes to prepare for a guest. But instead of sending me an offer to be their next great columnist, I received a “Thanks, but no thanks,” form letter.

I’ll show them! One of their major competitors will snatch me up. I’ll become a household name! As quickly as I could address the envelopes, I sent my stories to other popular magazines. Still no nibbles. Although the wind was leaving my sails, I pressed on, now querying magazines that nobody's ever heard of.

The caller, sensing I was annoyed at the intrusion, continued, “Mrs. Saunders, I’m sorry to bother you. I’m from Nice Home magazine (name changed so they won't know I lumped them in the “nobody’s heard of them” category). We really enjoyed your “Oh, No, Camping” and “My Apple Obsession” stories. Do we have your permission to publish them? We’d like to run the camping one in September and the apple one in October, but we can only pay you in three complimentary issues of magazine. Is that okay?”

Somebody finally considered me a writer! So what if I wasn’t going to be paid and I didn’t know anyone who actually read the magazine—now I’d have samples of my published work to show editors. Hanging up, I called everyone I knew along the Eastern Seaboard saying something like, “I have been discovered and am on my way!”

It was more than 10 years earlier, during my brief stint as a Suffern High School newspaper columnist, that I first thought of becoming a famous author. I read books on how to write, scrolled a sheet of paper down into my father’s old typewriter, placed my fingers on the keys and waited. I couldn’t think of a thing to say! And that was it. I went off to Cornell University, majored in business, found a husband, worked in accounting, and had a daughter.

Writing never crossed my mind again—until the birth of my second daughter, Elizabeth. Born with a severely damaged brain as a result of me contracting cytomegalovirus (CMV) during my pregnancy (see my memoir Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with congenital CMV published by Unlimited Publishing, LLC), doctors told me that Elizabeth would never walk, talk, or even feed herself. Suddenly, I had a lot to say. As a way to deal with my grief, I began writing letters to friends and family to express my feelings about her prognosis and our future. Eventually, I no longer focused on what we didn’t have, but on what we did have, and the letters began regaling humorous family adventures.

When I discovered that writing soothed my soul, I thought perhaps getting my words published would soothe it even more! So, I read the Writer's Market, a big, fat book full of publishers, editors and directions on how to submit one’s work. So began the long, depressing process of submitting my stories and receiving rejection letter after rejection letter. But now, that was about to end! 

My September issue of Nice Home magazine finally arrived in the mail. I couldn’t wait to show it off! I pulled the magazine from the mailbox and stood on the porch, opening it to the table of contents. Wait a minute. I don’t see my byline. I flipped through the rest of it. My camping story was nowhere to be found. I called the magazine.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Saunders, we ran out of space,” the editor explained. “We found a humorous piece about laundry that fit better with this month’s theme.”

Devastated, I read the article that ousted mine. I had to admit, it was pretty funny. But I had funny laundry, too. Why didn’t I think to write about what a riot doing my laundry was?

When October came, so did another issue of Nice Home magazine. I was scared to pull it out of my mailbox. Was more humiliation in store? But there it was—“My Apple Obsession.”

“Not your best piece,” was my husband Jim’s first comment after reading it. On second reading, I kind of agreed—I doubt I had made Snooty Home sorry they hadn’t grabbed me first. But I didn’t care—I was finally a published author in October of 1994.

Eventually, several of my little stories made their way into specialty magazines and local newspapers. I wasn't exactly a household name, but I was having fun sharing the ups and downs of dieting, of trying to get a major publisher to notice me, my eccentric relatives who hid their false teeth and Twinkies, and what it was like to raise a severely handicapped child. My articles grew into books, some published by a traditional publishers, others I published myself.

Eventually, after years as an employment recruiter, I decided I wanted to become a full-time writer for a newspaper or some other publication. I took a journalism course at Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York. The connections made in that class, in addition to the skills I gained, led to my first job as a full-time professional writer.