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My nomination for oversimplification of the year is this: "It's not easy getting published." In the past four years, I've read several dozen books on writing, attended a number of top-notch writers' conferences, and had more conversations with editors and established authors than I can count. "What do I have to do to get this into print?" is the lament of unpublished authors (and some published ones). Discounting the differing tastes of editors and requirements of publishing houses, here is an overview of the answer.

Start With The Basics
First, learn the basic rules of punctuation and grammar. That seems simple enough, but editors tell me they continually receive work containing misspellings, poor punctuation, and questionable grammar. These submissions get discarded quickly. Acquire a copy of The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White. Read it with a highlighter in your hand, and review it periodically. It's important.

Then, study plot structure and characterization. For fiction writers, must-reads include James Scott Bell's classic work, Plot & Structure, and Sherri Szeman's Mastering Point of View. For the best explanation I've found of story arc, study How To Write Killer Fiction, by Carolyn Wheat. To bring your characters to life, read Brandilyn Collins' Getting Into Character. Poor plotting, shifting point of view, sagging middle, and flat characters are common criticisms (and reasons for rejection) of fiction manuscripts.

Keep On Keeping On
No one writes the great American novel on the first draft. Learn to get it down and then get it right. Do the writing while wearing your creative hat. Then put on your editor's hat and rework what you've written. How? Here's another book that belongs on your bookshelf―after you've studied it: Self-Editing For Fiction Writers by Browne & King.

Realize that the first draft isn't your last draft. There are two things that are extremely difficult for writers. The first is writing. The second is deleting what you've written. Even the best authors go through multiple revisions before their work is good enough for publication. Why should you be different? When do you know your novel is finally ready to submit? How did your mother know the biscuits were done? Judgment based on experience.

In all this, remember that you're not being paid by the word. Tighten your writing in the revision process by cutting out unnecessary words. Seek out and destroy adjectives and adverbs that interrupt the flow of your work. Strive for strong declarative sentences that carry the reader along. Read every scene with one question in mind: what does this contribute? Nothing? Cut it!

Even though I've recommended frequent use of the "delete" key, it's a good idea to keep your discarded scenes and earlier drafts. Create a separate folder for them. There may come a time when you want to go back and try that idea somewhere else.

Put Your Best Foot Forward
No one likes to think about it, but your proposal will take more effort than the work it accompanies. If the proposal doesn't catch the attention of the editor, why should he or she bother with it? There must be a "hook" and it's up to you to point it out. While you're at it, you will also want to mention who will buy the book and why you're the ideal person to write it. The proposal should make it easy for the editor to sell your idea to the publication board. Need help? Read Book Proposals That Sell by Terry Whalin.

Know where to submit your work. Every publisher has likes and dislikes. Go to web sites, consult catalogs, read the work of their authors. Don't submit a suspense novel to a house that only publishes romantic fiction for teens. Do your homework using Sally Stuart's Christian Writers' Market Guide.

Keep A Stiff Upper Lip
Sadly, if you write and submit, you'll get rejected. Rejoice. You've joined a long list of talented writers who didn't make it on the first, tenth, even the twentieth try. Don't let rejection get you down. Rejection is the beginning, not the end. If you're fortunate enough to get more than a form letter, read the comments and take them to heart. Can the work be revised to make it more publishable? Is there a house that is more likely to consider your work? Is help from a professional needed? When a rejection comes in, counter it by a submission to another publisher. Keep those balls in the air.

Should you keep an unsuccessful manuscript around after every possible house has rejected it? Sure, why not? If you're like John Grisham or Ken Follett, you may even get to pull it out and get it published after you're famous. Otherwise, after you've written your third or fourth book, you can go back to your first one and marvel at how much better your writing has become. With hard drives big enough to store whole libraries, why not hold on to your work, if only for a souvenir?

When you're discouraged, consider that your writing is not wasted, even if no one but you ever reads it. The very process of sitting down and systematically committing thoughts and ideas to paper will help keep your mind active. Research will broaden your horizons. And when someone asks you what you do, you can smile and say, "I'm a writer." How much fun is that?

About The Author
Richard L. Mabry, MD is the author of The Tender Scar: Life After The Death Of A Spouse (Kregel, 2006), more than a dozen published articles, and four as-yet-unpublished novels. Visit him at www.rmabry.com.

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