Getting Published

A while back Carly suggested this for a post:  what's the most important thing in getting published?

Carly, this is a question that is not easily answered.  Mainly because people's answers vary depending on who you're asking, what genre they write or represent, and just their general opinion.  I also think it makes a huge difference depending on if the person you ask is published or unpublished.

With that said, answering this as an unpublished writer is a bit tricky for me simply because I've had no experience with the publishing process nor with the industry as a whole.  So, I'd like to write this from a view point as how I would see it if I were a publisher.  If I were a publisher, I think the most important thing in getting published would be a strong voice.  If you are your own person, if your story is its own person right from the first time they glance at your query  or manuscript submission, it'll go a long way.  Having a strong voice.  Be unique.  Imagine reading the same thing everyday, every writer sounding the same, writing about the same thing.  So basically, imagine reading about the stock market everyday.  And then all of the sudden, this wonderful manuscript is on your desk and it's not stocks, it's breaking news.  And the reporter (the writer) isn't someone that represents the stocks, it's someone who knows the president on a first-name-basis.  Can you see where THAT would more likely grab your attention, and that you'd want other people to read THAT than your other submissions?

Now, I will answer the same question as an aspiring, hopeful published author.  In my opinion the most important thing in getting published is...trying.  If you don't first try, you can't get published.  More importantly, trying again.  And again, and again.  Nobody's going to get published or get an agent with the first query they send out - and if that's what you're expecting, you seriously need a reality check.  The industry isn't fair, and it isn't always nice.  But if you don't believe in yourself enough to keep getting back up on that horse, it won't make a difference if you're the next Edgar Allen Poe or Suzanne Collins.  You have to have a backbone to stick up for the story you've worked so hard to create and you have to work hard at changing it around if that's what's right.

Hope this helped and I'm still open for suggestions!  I still have a few left to write about.

With eternal love and blessings,
~Hanna~