Advice for aspiring authors

Five things you absolutely must do to become an author:

1. Read great quantities of books, especially in the genre in which you hope to be published

2. Practice, practice, practice. The more you write, the better you will become.

3. Never think your manuscript is done after one draft: edit, edit, edit!

4. Research publishers before you submit, to ensure the publisher is interested in your genre. (Cookbook publishers don’t want to receive young adult novels.)

5. Take rejection in stride. Rejection letters mean you’re trying. Many fantastic books were rejected many dozens of times before a match was found.