JOIN WRITING A CRITIQUE GROUPS
Are you a member of a writing group, online or otherwise? If not, join today! This is very important for a first-time writer with no bylines. An editor will take notice if you are a member of a writing or critique group, as this tells them you have an interest in perfecting your craft.
There are several places online to find a writing group. One good place to look is Yahoo!. Go to Yahoo! Groups and look for Entertainment & Arts. Look under "books," then "writing." Peruse the groups, as there are literally over a thousand groups listed here. Join as many as you want. Be careful on the amount of groups you sign up for, for it will take up much of your email space.
WRITING ORGANIZATIONS
Another plus in an editor’s eyes is your affiliation with writers' organizations. Where to find them? One way is to go to one of your writer's groups and ask. Many writers in these groups are already associated with several organizations and they can give you advice on which ones to join.
Another way to find out is to put "writer organizations" in search. I went to Yahoo! and put writer organizations in search and this is what I found. At the time of this writing, Yahoo! included 23 categories and 298 Web sites for writer organizations. They included:
Most have yearly fees so be prepared for that. This should not defray you. One particular writer organization I know is so well respected by editors and publishers that that one byline is all you need for an instant passport to publication.
CONCLUSION
An unpublished author has to always remember that you are your own product. You have got to sell yourself. By following the above suggestions, I can guarantee you will come up with an author bio that will knock the editor’s socks off and up your chances of becoming a published author.
