Heinlein's Rules for Writing & Getting Published

I've heard a lot about Heinlein's Rules for Writing lately, and there's a good reason. If you want to get published, this simple set of rules if a formula for success.

First, what are Heinlein's Rules for Writing? As published in the 1947 essay "On the Writing of Speculative Fiction:"

1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

Robert A. Heinlein autographing at the 1976 WorldCon.
Courtesy of user Dd-b, Wikimedia Commons

Let's look at them one-by-one.

1. You must write.

This one is absurdly obvious, yet it's not as easy to do as it sounds. People run into time issues. They get distracted by the life events that HAVE to be done (or that, at the very least, FEEL like the things that have to be done.) I need to write, but first I need to do the dishes, check my email, call the dentist, run to the grocery store, make a snack for my kids, pack their lunches for tomorrow, check Facebook, vacuum the living room floor, work my day job, ...

Wow, there are a lot of excuses for why we can't write, aren't there? And many of them are completely valid (work and parenting come to mind). But you're not a writer if you aren't writing. Make the time. Make a date. Schedule it on your calendar. Steal five minutes here, five minutes there. Write on napkins. In short, find what helps you get to writing and then continue doing that something.

2. You must finish what you write.

Again, obvious. Again, easier said than done.

It's easier to start a project than to finish it. We get distracted in the lulls between the exciting parts. We get new ideas. We forget to make time to write. There are probably as many reasons to not finish as there are reasons to not write in the first place, but you have to finish or there was no point in starting. Don't let that turn you off. Make whatever plans you need to be able to write, just as above, and stick to it. If you get a new idea, jot it down in a notebook or make a document on your computer (phone/tablet/what have you) to keep new ideas in. That way, they can continue to evolve in your mind while you finish writing what you've already started.

3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.

Now, this one I have a bit of a problem with, so I'm going to change the meaning for me. You can take it as you want. I've known quite a few writers who get lost in the editing--they never stop. You have to get your manuscript to a good point and let it go. If it gets accepted, the editor will discuss changes. Now, if you self-publish, you should still be hiring a professional editor. At the very least, find someone else to look your work over for some line edits and story flow issues.

If you're submitting to traditional markets and they're asking you to use spell-check, you obviously need to do more editing. But you can't spend the rest of your life editing and never reaching the next step.

4. You must put the work on the market. 

You've written your story. You've edited it to a stopping point. Don't just file it now. Start submitting! If it's a short story, find short story markets, like magazines, anthologies, etc. If it's a novel, start hunting for an agent (if that's the way you choose to go). If you plan to self-publish, get the formatting done and get your book to market, whether that's POD and/or e-book, Create Space and/or Amazon. Nook and/or Kindle. Get your book (or short story!) out there.

5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold. 

Do it.

Okay, I should expand on that more. If you submit to an agent and get rejected, send it to another agent. Even better, as soon as you submit, have the information for the next agent in line. That way, when your rejection comes back, you don't have to hesitate or wallow, you just have to re-label that envelope (or re-write that email), and send it out again.

If you're submitting short stories (or other short works), do the exact same thing. If you submit to a market, know where you're sending it next. If they take simultaneous submissions, by all means submit to multiple places at once. Just be sure to mention this is a simultaneous submission, and to notify them if one market picks up your piece. You don't want to piss off markets you may want to submit to again in the future. And, in my experience, they're super nice when you let them know someone else purchased it. Given, that's limited experience, so don't hold me to it.

6. Shannon's Rule: Continue 1 & 2, even as you do 4 & 5.

While you're shopping those books/stories, you should be writing new ones. Set aside x amount of market research time, submit during that time, then write, write, write. And finish what you're writing. Number 5 is not a good place to stop. If you could see these rules as an image, they'd be the infinity snake, eating its own tail. Always keep writing.

By Elizabeth, clker.com

And, yeah, I need to follow my own advice.

What rule would you add? What do you think of these rules? How do you interpret number 3?

May you find your Muse.

Mile Hi Con Highlights - Day 1

Well hello, and Happy Monday!

First, my presentation went well.  I wasn't very nervous, which I found to be true at Author Fest once I got up in front of everyone, too.  Funny that I worry more before that date, but not actually when I'm in front and presenting.  There was a good showing and great questions!  We didn't get through everything, but it was more important that the attendees understand what we had already gone over than that I got through every little thing I'd been asked to talk about.

Friday, I took my kids and my nephew to Seven Falls, a set of waterfalls in Cheyenne Canyon, so I'm looking forward to sharing those photos on Wednesday.  I headed up to my first day of Mile Hi Con later that afternoon, having walked up an insane number of steps, then hiked up the side of a canyon.  In other words, I was already exhausted, but happily so, and excited.

When I walked in, I was completely out of my element.  I had to ask directions to the Con at the front desk (it was on the 2nd floor).  I went up the stairs only to wander around amongst all the tables with no idea where I was supposed to check in.  It took asking two different people (who were each very nice and helpful) before I got to the correct desk and got my groovy badge and program.  I had fun gawking at all the various types of costumes those moving around me had on.  I saw Star Trek costumes of all different types, steampunk outfits, furries, elves, Dresden (!), etc.

Happily, I was joined by a friend, and she showed me where to go from there.  The first program we attended was "Writing the Holy Trilogy," featuring the always fabulous Carol Berg, Warren Hammond, Catherine Cooke Montrose, the sweet and supportive Jeanne Stein, and Peter J. Wacks.  They discussed a little about the difference between a series and a trilogy (a series tends to be like a set of TV episodes, where it's the same characters, but there is a stand alone tale in each book, while a trilogy is usually a story arc that takes three books to tell the tale).  Some had the entire trilogy planned out from the beginning, but others stated that wasn't necessary, and that you could take the story piece by piece.

Someone in the audience asked whether book length mattered, whether each book in a trilogy should be long.  Otherwise, the implication was that shorter books in a trilogy should maybe just be combined into big book.  The overall perception of the panel was that novel length didn't matter, and that it depended on how the writer wanted to break down their story.  An interesting tidbit: Carol Berg tends to have a natural word count of 175,000 or so words in a book, while Jeanne Stein averages more like 75-80,000 words.  And both are okay.

It was discussed that publishers have classically (in recent years) preferred shorter novels so as to fit them better on shelves and save ink and paper costs, but e-books are changing that.  Now, length doesn't matter.

They each passed along some tricks of the trade.

Wacks: If things stall out during writing, injure or kill a character.
Berg: Jots down notes, timeline, glossary or terms, magic of the world, etc.  Rarely starts with a full world, but has an idea of aspects of it (Carol is known around these parts as an expert at world building).
Hammond: He sketches out some notes, like a flow chart.  Basically, where the story begins and ends, and a couple of plot points.  Starts from there.
Stein: Her books usually start with an idea, which she gets from TV, the news, eavesdropping, anything.  She sketches out her protagonist first and how they will be involved with the story idea.
Montrose: Thinks of the worlds first, sketches them, fulling imagines them.  Eventually, a character wanders through, and she goes from there.  Tolkien is a major inspiration for her.

A useful audience question and the responses: Is it a mistake to finish all the books in your trilogy before the first one has been picked up by a publishing house?  It was overall agreed that it was actually good to have the trilogy done.  Writing under deadline is hard, and can cramp your creativity.  Yes, you will likely have to go back and edit it, but it's worth it to have the entire story done for yourself, if for no one else.

Someone pointed out that it would be an issue to have the first book picked up, but not the next ones in the trilogy, to which Carol Berg said that's not true anymore.  The ease of self-publishing means that you could put out the rest of your trilogy on your own if there was an audience for your first book.  We have that ability now.

Final points from the panel:
Wacks: Finds he has the best luck with building the roles first.  However, you should find the way that works best for you and stick with it.
Stein: Build your story any way you want, but stick to the rules you create.  She also said to write.  Don't say you WANT to write.  Write.
Hammond: "In writing, the tortoise wins."  The person that grabs 15 minutes here or there, but continues grabbing those moments, is the one that typically gets finished and gets published.  Finish, then sell.  Don't write to sell.
Montrose: Get feedback.  Learn to share your work.
Berg: Don't sett out to write a trilogy.  Don't think it has to be three and make it that way.  Set out to write a good story, one you enjoy and want to write.  Write what you would enjoy reading.  Also, don't over-constrain your world.  As in, don't figure out every single little rule and bit of makeup of that world, or you may write yourself into a corner in future books.  Part of the fun in writing an ongoing trilogy or series is to keep developing that world, and leaving it open allows you to do that.

That was a phenomenal panel, in case you couldn't tell from my "brief" summary.  We next went to "CJ Henderson Presents 'Abuse an Author'."  The authors we got to abuse--ask questions of on any theme--were Stephen Graham Jones, Mario Acevedo, Melinda Snodgrass, James Van Pelt and the moderator, CJ Henderson.  There were some interesting questions asked (ex: "Which of the worlds you've created would you want to live in and not want to live in?" "What book do you wish you'd written?" "Can you still be surprised by your work?").

We grabbed a bite to eat (all I'd had since my big hike was half a peanut butter sandwich and some water).  Pretty sure I should be humiliated by the pure vacuuming of food I did, but I was too hungry to care.  I had ketchup all over my fingers and even (yes, I'm admitting this) found some on my shirt later.  That's how hungry I was.  In my defense, I'd burned five billion calories earlier that day, with just a cereal bar and half sandwich standing between health and wasting away, and it was 8:30pm by the time I got any food.  Thank goodness the hotel bar was open and serving food!

The third thing we attended was "Hipster Readings...with Bongos," a reading with a little extra bongo flavor.  While one guy played the bongos (not sure of his name), the following authors read from their work: Mario Acevedo, Betsy Dornbusch, Jason Heller, Stephen Graham Jones, j.a. kazimer, and Cherie Priest.  I must say, I'm not a big fan of sitting and listening to someone read (I prefer to read on my own), but this was enjoyable, kept me engaged and was  a fun way to spend an hour.  Also, it made me want to buy books by every single reader (of course, I already have books from three of them...).

The last thing we attended before I hopped in my car to head back home and get some final work done on my presentation was "The Love & Sex Lives of the Victorians," billed as a pajama panel.  There were a couple folks there in their pajamas, as well as one fella' who passed out partway through it.  Yep, he was in the front row and fell asleep.  Despite that fact, it was a fascinating panel.  They knew their stuff about sex, sensuality and women's rights/privileges in that era.  I do love history, and the history of sexuality is full of interesting and unexpected information, such as the barriers crossed in Victorian porn that we'd consider foul and disturbing now, despite thinking they were so uptight.  How about the belief that keeping your wife pregnant every other year would save a man from his own sins in wanting to have sex all the time (because, after all, we all know women don't like sex when pregnant...whoops).  Is it true what they say about the true reason for the popularity of fainting couches?  I'm going to let you look that one up on your own.

I'll hit on Saturday's highlights in a separate post.

What do you think of the panels?  Anything of interest to you?