Suzanne McMinn's 12 easy steps for breaking in
Holly Lisle's treasure trove of tips and article for writers
Stephanie Bond's fabulous writing articles
Read Angela Knight's super workshops posted on her blog
Morgan Hawkes rants and articles, invaluable writing help for erotica authors
Gabrielle Luthy's extensive resource site.

I'm new to all this, how do I know if I can write? I believe that just about anyone has the potential to write a book, if you have a story to tell. Craft can be learned, and there are heaps of craft books and articles out there to guide you. If you have the ability to recognise creative potential in yourself and can be disciplined with your time and your goals, then you only need the strength of will to see it through. Fundamentally, creative writing is a matter of freeing the imagination and then letting it fly just enough to keep up with where it's headed, and make notes along the way. That’s the basic foundation, but an important one. Getting your work to publishable standard, finding appropriate markets and getting it published are the hard parts -- and they are exceedingly hard -- but before you address that ask yourself: Do I have a story to tell?

There's a fabulous little book that addresses the subject of creative writing through interviews with many leading writers. My CP gave it to me as a gift and I return to if often because it's so full of gems of wisdom about creative writing. It's called Writers Dreaming by Naomi Epel, and it looks at the correlation between dreams, imagination and writing. It's inspirational and I highly recommend it. Here's what Anne Rice has to say:

I'm a very a heavy daydreamer, I have been since I was a child. To me daydreaming is intimately connected with writing. Writing is like daydreaming Its putting down in dramatic from whatever is on your mind. Daydreams are some sort of code for whatever concerns you. I really can't imagine what the minds are like of those who can't daydream or fantasize because I'm so used to doing it. So my writing grew out of that, obviously. Anne Rice.

Make time for reading and writing. The best way to build up your skills and knowledge as a writer is to read and write regularly. I believe there are two principles of teaching that particularly apply to writing. 1) Learning by example -- i.e. from reading well written books. 2) Practise makes perfect -- the more you write the more you'll develop your skills and ideas. Even if you only have fifteen minutes a day writing time stolen from your lunch break at work, or a half an hour before bedtime, make it regular. Make it a slot that is just for you where you don’t have to answer the phone or deal with the household stuff. In between those times I guarantee you'll soon be turning over ideas about what you want to do on your next writing slot.

What is this thing they call voice? I'd been writing for ages when I finally clicked about voice. I'd been told early on I had a strong voice. "That sounds good," thought I, without really understanding what it was. Then somewhere in 2003 I read that voice is about letting your personality come through in your work. For most writers that would be common sense, but for me I experienced a real light bulb moment. I'm not saying your characters should talk as if they are you; each character should have their own personality. It's more about your attitude to life flavouring the work as whole. Thinking about it in terms of personality made me relax into the writing process. I didn't stop to think, I let my natural instincts run. At that point I believe it became "storytelling" rather than "writing a book" for me. I didn't know how this would affect my work, but to my surprise my sales began to increase. That speaks for itself.

The dreaded synopsis. There are lots of good articles on writing a good synopsis out there. Go here to find a whole slew of articles on the subject.

I really only want to highlight a couple of things that particularly helped me. The best tip I ever read: tell it like you're telling your best friend what you're about to write. Once I thought about that, it fell into place. Before that my synopses were painful, trite summaries with all the life squeezed out of them. Yuk. That’s not what the editor wants to see, they want to see your enthusiasm for the story, your voice (there it is again) what's different about your characters, and the story potential. It's your number one selling tool, so it's important to learn all you can about it, but if you're having trouble getting the document to live and breathe your book, give that over-the-cup-of-coffee approach a try and I bet you'll find it starts to flourish.

The other tip is to do it before you write the book, if that’s at all possible. I've recently started doing this and I find that my enthusiasm for the project is naturally distilled into the synopsis. If I’ve just completed the book, it's much harder to capture that early emotion without getting bogged down in all the details I’ve just set out in the book.

Learn about market. I started out getting ideas for books and then wondered "if I want to get published, where am I going to sell this?" A gradual transition took place. With research I found places where my work might fit and then I honed proposals for that market. If you're hoping to make a career out of this, knowing the market is the only sensible thing to do. Don't view it as forcing your writing to fit what a publisher wants, that's stifling; see it as a meeting of minds, a juncture of possibility. Being positive in your outlook is very helpful in this business!

Remember: if you aren't in you can't win.

Perhaps because I've lived all over the world I think nothing of sending my work to an American publisher. I think I have a globe village mentality. I also believe that if you’ve got your best efforts into an appropriate proposal, it's worth a shot - what have you got to lose? It's only a few stamps. The hub of the romance publishing world is in the US and for erotic romance the publishing world is the US. If you are British author you have to push yourself out there, because very little erotic romance is coming out the UK. In fact the only label is Virgin's Cheek, and that's currently only open to US subs, so there's your problem. Virgin's groundbreaking erotic imprint, Black Lace, used to publish stories with romantic endings, but it's now focused on erotica, with Cheek focusing on the erotic romance side. Stateside erotic romance markets are, however, willing to consider British authors. All hail the yanks! And if you are an American author of erotic romance and would like the guidelines for Cheek, click here.

Never stop learning. Anyone who assumes they know everything is in for a nasty shock. Apart from anything else in this business, things change all the time. There are lots of ways to keep an eye on the changes in publishing even if you aren’t able to attend events where the editors and agents announce what they are looking for. I recommend Cynthia Sterling's mailing list and Karen Fox's website for finger-on-the-pulse reports. I also try to read one article or commentary on writing a day, to keep my mind active on the actual act of writing.

Learn from rejection. If an editor says one little thing that you can learn from, the whole process has been hugely worthwhile. Often rejections come as a form letter, but some publishers will pause to tell you something they liked or something that needed attention. Look past the rejection and use every little bit of information they give you. You will never get as honest, un-biased and worthwhile commentary on your work as you will from an actual editor. They want to find the book that will sell, they want it to be the one they are holding in their hands. If they've told you why it isn’t, take notice of the reason.

To network or not to network?Writing is a lonely business, no doubt about it, but I'm not going to be the one telling you to go out and get yourself a bunch of writing buddies, a critique group, an online chapter and numerous other forums – not unless that's what you feel will work for you. This is a very personal thing and with the internet there are so many possibilities to socialise, brain storm and get advice, it's more a question of deciding what level of interaction you really need. It's also dependent on where you are in your efforts – if you're looking for a CP you have to start somewhere.

I find larger lists and bulletin boards with more disparate focus less helpful than just chatting and knocking ideas back and forth with my CP or other author friends. There is often too much information, which can be overwhelming, and (dare I say it) sometimes a competitive element that can easily drain your confidence if you're having a bad day. Give it a go, but if you feel it's starting to eat away at your time or your belief in yourself, don't be afraid to step away. At the end of the day writing is a solitary activity. No escaping that fact. What it comes down to is you and that blank page. Run with the pack, yes, but don't lose sight of your own page in the scrum.

Always carry paper and pen. I keep log books for story plans, notes and scene outlines, but the perfect word or line for your story will come to me when I least expect it, travelling, as I'm falling asleep or while trawling round the supermarket. If you're anything like me you need to be prepared. I have notebooks and scraps everywhere and I carry a fold out notebook in my bag and car. The resulting scrawled pieces of paper are also everywhere, and multiplying. Mark knows how much these scraps of gobbledygook are worth to me and he diligently collects them together and makes a little pile which I then attempt to turn into a road map for my next story. I've taken risks, thinking: "oh, I'll remember that, it's such a good idea how can I forget!" but I have forgotten, so I don't take the risk anymore. I write it down, even if it means pulling in at the next service station. It also really helps if I'm having a low day and feel bereft of ideas, to look through one such notebook or collection of scraps, to spark my imagination and to restore my faith.

A few words about e-publishing. I almost called this section "print v electronic publishing" and a few years ago that might have been appropriate, but now there doesn’t need to be a "v" in there. Many big names (such as Angela Knight and Mary Janice Davidson) have proved that an epub and print career can go hand in hand, and that each can enhance the other.

When e-publishing first came about I wasn't sure where this thing was going and watched with interest – and caution. Both have been warranted. E-publishing is still in its infancy but e-book sales have grown in leaps and bounds over the last few years. It's also starting to take off in Europe, at first slow to catch on to the American rush. Some US libraries are starting to stock e-books over traditional formats, and more recently we've seen the largest publishers in the business move to epublishing as another option for book availability. There's no doubt e-publishing is here to stay and will make up a large part of reading-media in the future.

I started subbing to e-publishers because it suited the less mainstream subjects I was writing about back then (such as erotic romance set in fantasy worlds or featuring a ménage) and I like the immediacy of e-publishing - things move a heck of a lot quicker! It was a good way for me to test the waters and hopefully build a name. I quickly learnt through experience that there are good and bad e-publishers out there, (as with all things in life) and I urge you to talk to other authors and get feedback on companies that interest you before diving in.

E-publishing suffered a lot of criticism in the early days, but the fact that New York publishing houses are diving in has knocked the edge off that. Major authors like Stephen King and Dan Brown want their books to be available in e-format. What does that say to you? Although still in its infancy, e-publishing has already got a lot going for it. I'm excited to be part of it.

Get comfy. When you are ready to get stuck in for a solid wrtiing session take a moment to consider your tools and your environment – you would with any other job you took on and this is no different. If you're a writer and spend long hours at the PC, you need as much light as possible. I discovered that the hard way, by not getting enough. Eventually the plan is to have a light box, when I'm rich and famous. Ha! Take plenty of breaks and always have a bottle of water handy – if you get sucked in to your writing session it's easy to forget the basics.

A good, supportive chair and a proper desk are very important too, and I'm glad to say I finally got these a few months back. Up until Christmas 2004 I wrote at an old dining table (i.e. the wrong height) that I had picked up at an Oxfam furniture shop, and the cheapest office chair in town. I've heard authors saying celebrate and record your first advance by buying a gift to remind you, jewellery or such like. When I got my first advance on royalties I spent it on a desk and chair and I can't tell you how much this has improved my writing time. You can spend hundreds and thousands on posture chairs, and I probably would if I had it, but my Ikea office chair is solid, supportive and does the job. I just have to remind myself to sit back in it and not get riveted to the screen.

Be patient and don't wish your life away! So you’ve finally got your book all done and you sigh with relief that all the hard work has come together. Well, you might soon think that writing the book was the easy part! Especially if you are short on patience, like me. When you send queries and partials out it can take months to hear back - years even, if it's a print publisher you're targeting. I've found myself wishing the weeks would go faster so I'd hear back from an editor, or see the cover, or see it published. Life is too short for that line of thinking, so once I realised what I was doing I put an end to it. It's hard to remember sometimes, when we work in such an isolated way for so much of the time, but life is to be lived!

My only real tips are 1) to be prepared for the wait and to try to put it out of mind 2) get stuck into another project immediately to stop yourself brooding. If you get a few projects out there it also puts you in a stronger position if the first one is rejected. I view writing for publication as a cyclical process and that works much better for me than focusing on one big launch project. I've done that over time, but if you are able to get stuck in with true grit you might be in for a nice surprise. Writing friend Sylvia Day spent a year and a half doing that and then in the space of two months had eight contract offers – it can happen!

The magic formula: read, write, submit, repeat.

Some last comments on writing as a career. I love writing and it’s a part of me but I didn’t start out doing it for the money. I've been told off by other authors for saying that and not beating the drum for author's rights to a living wage. Funny, eh? Don't get me wrong, I'd love a slot on the bestseller list and to be paid well - I'm not being altruistic, I'm being realistic. I wanted to do this for a career because I wanted to do it round the clock, i.e. I wanted the writing to pay the bills so that I could keep doing it. My first ambition is to write stories that I enjoy and that readers will enjoy too. I truly believe that you must get something back from the very act of writing to stick to it well enough to make it a potential career. Chicken and egg, you see. If I had started for the money I would have given up long ago, but I kept going because I love writing and now it's becoming my career. It's not an easy job and it can take a long time to learn everything you need to know, but if you enjoy the basic act of creative writing you will always have that to carry you through the hard times.