You write fairly well. You have something to say. You might even have a first draft, a paper or article to expand, or research to share. You want to be published. Now what?

Crown & Covenant Publications and the Reformed Presbyterian Witness recently offered a workshop, “How to Write for Publication.” This article addresses the top tips and most common questions from that workshop.

Do Not Assume

Instead, writers research thoroughly. You’ve probably already researched your topic—investigating your family’s history, doing a thorough exegesis, or tracing societal trends from past to present—but your homework isn’t finished. Once you’ve assured that every word is accurate, you still need to research the possible venues for publication. Just as important, you need to research the submission requirements for your preferred publisher, agent, or company. Every one is different, and they want to know you care about establishing a good working relationship with them. For instance, not all places accept simultaneous submissions, and some places want a proposal before they see your manuscript. Find out what these terms mean, and look up the requirements before you submit to an agent, publisher, magazine, or journal.

Most successful magazine or journal writers are published in print, online, or both. Before you submit to a magazine or journal, take care to see where it will be published. Look at the types of articles featured. Read their mission statement. This should help you discern if your article is appropriate for this venue. The internet already contains a wide array of articles and books on your topic, so a publisher will want to know why there is a need and an audience for your project at this time.

Most book writers want to be published either by (a) a traditional publisher, such as Random House, (b) a self-publishing firm, such as WestBow Press, or (c) a self-publishing service, like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct Publishing. Whatever you choose, carefully review what the publisher requires from the writer. For example, traditional publishers usually do not want your manuscript; they typically want a chapter, a table of contents, and a proposal. In contrast, self-publishing services often require you to send in everything, from your manuscript to your cover image. Send only what each particular company expects—nothing more, nothing less.

Most traditional publishing houses require you to submit your work through a literary agent. If you are considering a literary agent, remember that they also have specific submission requirements. (Jane Friedman’s webpage, How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book, is a great resource.) To learn more about agents and book publishing, Crown & Covenant staff highly recommend finding and attending a writer’s conference focused on your genre.

Aim Toward Your Unique Audience

If you just need to get something off your chest, write a diary. But if you want to communicate to readers, you have to know your precise audience and how to write for them. A publisher wants to see that you’ve done your homework here. You don’t have a big budget for market research, but you can research your audience online and discuss your project with trusted colleagues. If, for example, you are writing a children’s book, you probably know people who could read your book to groups of children and evaluate their response and comprehension. Often the feedback from even small efforts can make a world of difference in how well your final project communicates.

For online articles, writers use lists and provide fixes, catering to an online community that wants easy access to information and solutions to their problems. For print magazines, writers use engaging illustrations and offer image ideas that are appropriate to the demographic of the magazine. For books, writers research the norms of their genre (history, young adult, etc.) and respect those norms as a courtesy to their readers.

Good writers research their audience, and do their best to write for those people. Your writing will never appeal to everyone, so focus your writing as a kindness to your real readers. strive for discipline and excellence in communication

Authors have different writing habits. But all good authors exercise discipline in their work. Most have a schedule, or create blocks of free time when interruptions can be minimized. Even though the stereotypical writer works only when the “muse” is calling, all of us must use our gifts at times when we don’t feel inspired. Like any other pursuit, your writing won’t improve if you work on your craft only when you feel like it.

One of the less inspiring aspects of good article or research writing is an outline. But taking the time to write and follow an outline avoids some of the most common mistakes that editors see. When you’re in the middle of the creative process, it’s easy to stray into tangents or slow the pace or lose track of the big picture. Having an outline helps you as a writer and ultimately helps the reader to follow the flow of your work.

An excellent book begins with an excellent title. Many writers submit manuscripts without a title, or they pick a title that is far too general or uninteresting. Readers are busy and often make their decision whether to read further based on the title and cover alone. If your book will be available online—through Amazon, for example—readers will look at your title and book cover at about a one-inch size and determine whether to keep scrolling. So seek to communicate your message through a compelling title and excellent cover art.

Finally, it’s better to communicate a few points well than to cover a lot of material poorly . In your rush to share all you have discovered, remember that the reader is just getting familiar with your material. They will typically need clear descriptions, key examples, and word pictures. Editors often find that what writers consider to be needless embellishment (such as an extended story illustrating your point) can be the thing that cements the point forever in the reader’s mind.

Involve Others in the Writing Process

Schools teach students that writing is a solo operation and that including your buddies is cheating. However, writing for publication often involves several people working as a team to present your material in the best way possible.

The best writers ask knowledgeable friends—friends who know a lot about the topic, the audience, or good writing—to serve as beta readers, scanning the complete manuscript for whatever feedback is desired. The best writers typically have professional editors who offer “big picture” encouragement and advice, plus copyeditors to look for paragraph-level errors, plus proofreaders to check the final draft. Finally, the best-published authors get help with formatting books (whether for Kindle, a zine, or print) and with crafting the perfect title or book cover.

Technology enables anyone to publish, but almost no one is an excellent writer, editor, proofreader, layout artist, designer, and marketer. The best writers know their strengths and welcome the talents of others in making the finished product better than any one person would have created. If you are publishing on your own, you may not have a big budget for outside help, but you probably have people in your circle of acquaintances who can give you some feedback in these areas.

After you’ve involved others in the writing and publishing process, thank them. Cite the sources for your article, according to the standards of your journal or magazine. Credit your partners in your self-published book (look up what a title verso it, and put their names on that page). List your photographer and his or her website. Acknowledge your readers, editors, and proofreaders unless they request otherwise.

Persist in Truth

After involving so many people in the writing and publishing process, and after doing so much research on your audience and venue, you might feel out of breath. You might worry that you need to change everything, adding ideas or illustrations that don’t mesh with your original vision. You might want to give up.

Stop and relax a bit.

Admittedly, there are moments when a project needs to be scrapped. Perhaps now isn’t the right time to write. Perhaps the first draft of a book needs to be overhauled, because the tone is uneven and the opening 12 chapters are dull. Perhaps an article has to be thrown out because a new discovery or development makes your point irrelevant. Perhaps a reader or editor points out that the piece is terribly disorganized, and wants you to begin anew.

Please don’t give up. Start over if needed, or start something new, but try again. Even some manuscripts with big problems can be changed with less trouble than you might think, and a good editor can help with this.

Stay true to the calling Christ gave you. If you are called to write, obstacles may arise, but He who has called you is faithful.

Lady Florence Foster Jenkins was a tone-deaf heiress who wanted to sing opera. Using her substantial wealth, she recorded her own album and booked herself at Carnegie Hall. In looking back at her singing career, which included scathing reviews, she said, “Some may say that I couldn’t sing. But no one can say that I didn’t sing.”

The last thing you want is to share the passion of your message without regard to what your audience is understanding. In humility, avoid the extravagant failures of Lady Jenkins. Research submission requirements. Consider your audience. Find an angle. Strive for discipline and excellence. Involve others in the writing and publishing process and respect their skills. And—like infamous Lady Jenkins—don’t give up.

The RP Witness is seeking writers of testimonies and of RP Living articles (on career, volunteering, talents, or helpful experiences). We also sometimes seek writers of feature articles. If you are interested in writing, please submit a one-paragraph proposal to drew@crownandcovenant.com.