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A man walks into a bar, sits down, and orders a drink.
The bartender serves him and, wanting to curry favor when it came to his tip, engages him with a friendly question: "What do you do?" "I'm a writer. Novels mostly," the man says. "I've always wanted to write a book," says the woman to his left. "I've got a great title for one," the man to his right chimes in, "but I just haven't gotten around to getting started." "I was thinking of writing a story," the bartender says, "It's about a bartender and all the funny things that happen to him." Everyone wants to write a book. A small fraction try. Few of those complete a manuscript. Whether IQ140 is the 1st or 101st web site you've visited, kudos to you for taking the first steps.  Just as there are conventions about which side of the road on which to drive, there are agreed upon rules for writing well and getting published. Meet those stardards, and with some talent and a little luck, you can spread your words far and wide. A different focus: The Arc of the Manuscript IQ140 is not another review of how to create characters, determine point of view, or develop a plot. This is not about Writing; there are hundreds of blogs and books for that and a reading list is provided on the menu. IQ140 is about those topics briefly and inartfully mentioned in most treatments of writing:  Preparing yourself to writeManaging the production of that first—unpublishable—draftPenetrating the fog of self-editing in practical termsPreparing your manuscript for publicationGetting early readers to be honest with youDispelling misconceptions about agents and editorsMaking that decision: Traditional v. Self-publishing
There are caveats: The writing of your manuscript is the easiest part of the project.Editing and polishing are as challenging as creating the first draft.Few writers sell a sufficient number of books to quit their day-job.
Our mission is to provide meta-direction for how to get this job done. Most treatments of writing teach you how to drive, IQ140 provides a road map with warnings about construction zones and bad weather along the way. Enjoy the journey.
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© 2021, Robin D. Ader. All rights reserved. |
