Greetings! My name is David Michael Slater, and I’m pleased to join Busymoms. I’ll be dropping in twice a month with some thoughts for those of you folks interested in adding writing to the heaping tower of to-do’s you’re already balancing on that plate spinning atop your umbrella.

We’ll start with some simple advice about getting started, which is about laying groundwork for later success. You may have a novel in you, but as an unpublished author, getting your book read is a daunting job. It can be harder than writing it. With novels, you must send query letters first, which will go something like this (in translation): “I’m no one you’ve ever heard of, and I have nothing in print. Would you read my novel?” Answer is nearly always no.

With that in mind, consider starting with either short stories (for any age) or picture books. In both cases, you may submit your manuscript to magazines and publishers with a cover letter, skipping the query altogether. Many publishers only take mss from agented authors, but many take them un-solicited.

Your goal down the road is to be able to list your credits in that novel cover letter. And anything counts (excluding your church newsletter). It doesn’t matter that no one has ever heard of say, The Unheard Of Review—a credit is a credit. Editors are swamped with submissions and scan through submissions looking for a reason to filter out those with more potential to read. Being published in Unheard Of is a reason! Oh, while you are collecting credits, don’t forget to work on that novel too!

There are many things to talk about, but perhaps I’ll let your questions guide my topics from here on out.

Best and thanks for reading,

David Michael Slater
www.davidmicahelslater.com

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