Base camp

Writers who have been published with little effort seem to me to be very talented, very lucky and have written something that is totally unique. For the rest of us just writing good prose can be a challenge. A greater challenge again is convincing an editor to publish your work.

To get some of my words published I have set about working out where to start. I have to get to 'base camp' and then work out how to make my accent towards getting a book published. At risk of abusing the metaphor: getting a foothold and climbing the mountain come later. Ultimately I'd like to turn my thesis into a popular history book and also publish a picture book and a work of fiction. At the earliest I'll try to start the process for some of this three months from now. First I have to educate myself on how to get something I have written accepted for publication. Second I need to find some support and get myself 'a day job'.

The work should 'speak for itself' but there are processes between this and publication that I have to figure out. As part of educating myself about these processes I visited the Victorian Writers Centre yesterday and became a member. Membership means I get sent their magazine and information about events, workshops and competitions. I also bought myself The Australian Writer's Marketplace and A Decent Proposal. Two books that I hope will come in handy. I have almost finished reading A Decent Proposal already. While being informative about the processes of getting published it has also really brought home how hard publication is for most aspiring writers.

Before I try to get 'bigger things' published I'm going to attempt to get a few smaller pieces published. A friend asked me if I'd like to write a review for a magazine that he writes for (I'm keeping the name of the magazine and the subject matter under my hat for now) . I said I'd love to. I really appreciate the opportunity to try and write something so completely different to my thesis. To begin with it is short. I've discovered that getting an argument into 500 words requires a great deal of skill. Last night my friend got back to me about the draft I had sent him. He said that he had massacred it. I did not really feel that he had, as he kept his feedback constructive and made a number of good suggestions. I have come to greatly appreciate someone being brutally honest with my writing. If he is reading this I hope that he always gives me his honest opinion, although I think he always will and that is part of the reason I respect him. Long story short, I'm going to rewrite the piece.

Next week I intend to catch up with another friend for coffee and have a talk about publishing thesis as book. Tomorrow I apply for two 'day jobs'.