Without connections, it's a long road

If you are a writer with no connections to the publishing industry, you've got a long road ahead of you. That was me five years ago. When I began writing Killer of Killers, I was starting from ground zero. I was a good writer, but I hadn't taken any writing classes or joined any writing groups. I wrote a good book, but there were a million things I needed to change to make it worth publishing.

And from reading the many writer's blogs, agent blogs and even a book on how to write a breakout novel, I did learn those things, and subsequently made those changes. But, for me, there was more. I continued to learn from publishers who were interested in publishing my books, even those who didn't end up doing it, and, of course, from those who did and/or will.

That's where editors came in for me. And not all editors were the same. I had one with Virtual Tales, one with Cogito, two with Melange, and now, one with yet another publisher, even though I haven't signed a contract with that publisher yet.

The plan is that after I complete the first round of edits, as suggested by this new publisher, I will resubmit, with the probable result being a contract. And through it all, I have learned how to write in the way that editors who work for publishers want their authors to write.

And I did it all with no connections. It was hard work, mostly, and perseverance, with a good deal of ability and patience to make it come to being published, not with just one publisher, but two, fingers crossed, which proves that, even if you have no connections, it can be done.

Better if you have connections though. That would be a nice shortcut.