Your writing success can soar with an honest but kind first reader

You’re your own first reader of course, so, hopefully, you make a habit of reading aloud every word you’ve written, listening closely to what you say and how effectively you say it. If something seems “off,” change it! Then, when your manuscript feels and sounds ready to you, find a good first reader.

If you just want a pat on the back, fine. Pick whoever knows and loves you a lot to read your manuscript and tell you how great it is.

If, however, you want an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in your work so you can improve your writing as you revise, excellent! This means you’re aiming for professionalism, so your requirements for a first reader now need to be higher too.

But, where do you go or to whom do you turn?

For that important first reader, look for a friend, family member, or writing peer whom you trust to speak truthfully without putting you down.

If you’re fortunate enough to have several people in mind, pick the person who likes and often reads published works in the genre you have chosen.

As you choose your first reader, age will be a factor too. For example, if you write for preschoolers, read your story, poem, or nonfiction picture book text to young children who enjoy being read to in this fun Read-To-Me stage.

You do not even need to know your first reader! For instance, ask your local librarian about reading your work to the appropriate age group who regularly meets in the public library. This may be a weekly story time for preschoolers, a daily after-school program for older kids, or a literary discussion group for adults who get together each month. Regardless, take notes of the feedback you get, writing down exactly what was said, so you can carefully consider each comment later when you’re alone, ready to revise.

If your area offers a writing or critique group, this can provide yet another option for you to find a good first reader. Just give yourself time to get to know the individual members and the quality of their writing as you look for someone with whom you connect.

Look, too, for someone who shows respect for your work. Although you want to find someone you can count on to give you an honest assessment, you certainly do not want or need a first reader whose “honesty” is actually cruelty or jealousy in poor disguise!

Often, a first reader can spot rough spots in a manuscript, pointing them out matter-of-factly, which can help you to see what to do to improve the work. If this doesn’t happen, try putting your manuscript aside long enough to be able to return to it objectively.

If your first reader writes in your genre, s/he will be better equipped to advise you about ways to revise more effectively. If not – or if you know something is not working but do not know what to do to correct the problem, it’s probably time to get a professional critique.

Mary Harwell Sayler

Artistic, creative people get creative at any age

In high school days of English lit, teachers of teens loved to extol boy-or-girl-wonders such as the poet William Cullen Bryant, who reportedly wrote Thanatopsis at the young age of 18. Thanks to the Internet, a little research not only showed this information to be verifiable and true, but the kid actually published poems years earlier!

Now decades past my expiration date for being a wonder, I wondered what happened to Bryant. Not much went on with his poems, but the boy-poet advanced into his 80’s as an editor and writer of prose.

I’ll take that as an encouragement and hope you will too, because, at any age, creative people can and do find outlets for creativity.

What interests me even more than age or art genres, though, is how one artistic endeavor often leads to another. Take Thomas Hardy, for example. He started out as an architect and somehow that visual art helped him to write artistically in all literary genres.

Or consider the Reverend Gerard Manley Hopkins, who, besides studying theology, studied art and music – all of which he then combined into poems still loved and bought by the book-load today.

In investigating how one art informs another, I also discovered that W.B. Yeats studied art too, whereas G.K. Chesterton reviewed books about art. In and on other artistic stages, James Joyce sang professionally, and Dylan Thomas tried writing movie scripts.

How successful those creative acts were, I do not know, but each of those poets and writers wrote memorable manuscripts for years, some even into old age – timeless, tireless poems and stories still studied, collected, and recollected with ageless honor. What a wonder!


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(c) 2010, Mary Sayler



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Writers Write. Writers Learn. Writers Work.

Writers need to write.

“Real writers” have to write, but getting published is not the starting place if you want to become established as a freelance or assignment writer. The first step comes, plainly and simply, in writing. However, publication is a natural step toward improving your work.

That might not be what you expected to hear, so I will say what I just said in another way in hopes of being clear:

Getting published can help you to improve your writing.

Notice that I did not say writing for publication brings you closer to the fame-and-fortune fantasy that distracts many writers from the real adventures of the writing life. Thanks to everyone’s overnight Internet potential for renown, writers may be more likely to become poor and famous!

So, at first anyway, forget about money. Forget about a celebrity life. Forget about marketing and developing a platform, and simply focus on what it takes, realistically and professionally speaking, to get really, really good at your job:

Writers write. Writers learn. Writers work.

If you keep on writing and revising, your work will improve with practice, and getting published will help. How? Why? Besides activating, energizing, and employing your writing skills, publication encourages you to:

Thoroughly investigate topics that actually interest you.

Develop resources you can count on to be accurate, update, and precise.

Develop the discipline of a regular working schedule.

Research “the other side” of almost anything.

Find a balanced perspective beyond beliefs or unsubstantiated opinions.

Find your voice.

Find your preferred genre – the one in which you’re “a natural.”

Find out what’s being published and still needed in your field.

Become more aware of what publishers, editors, and readers seem to like.

Become acquainted with print and Internet markets for your chosen genre.

Follow writers guidelines with no amateurish demands to be the exception.

Meet deadlines with the same professionalism people usually show in being on time for an important engagement or business appointment.

Get input, including constructive criticism, from potential editors.

Get feedback from readers.

Get the encouragement you need to keep on writing.

Give your writing career the respect you'd show for any worthwhile endeavor.

Give yourself specific, manageable goals adjusted to fit you first as a person, then as a writer.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler

Outline Or Synopsis?

Before you write a book, prepare either an outline or a synopsis, but which and why? This can be confusing, especially since all sorts of misinformation abounds. So to understand the very real differences, let’s back up a bit and look at what the outline and synopsis are meant to do.

For both, the first purpose is to help you keep your book on track as you write. Later, the same tool helps a potential editor or literary agent get an idea of what you had in mind without having to read the whole manuscript.

Besides having those traits in common, the outline and the synopsis run about the same length – usually a couple of pages. Otherwise they’re as different as a book of fiction and a nonfiction book can be.

If you’re writing a nonfiction book, you’ll develop an outline by simply listing the main points you want to include. Once you’ve written down the points you want to remember, group them into whatever categories they have in common. Each group then needs an appropriate heading under which you’ll arrange the points in a logical order or sequence.

As you write, this outline of well-organized thoughts will remind you what’s next – sort of like using an in-depth checklist to be sure you don’t forget something you want to include. Later, when you’re ready to send a nonfiction book proposal to an editor or agent, this same outline will go with your query letter and a chapter of two of the actual manuscript.

Similarly, a synopsis guides you, first as you write your novel then later as you try to give the editor or agent an overall feeling for your story. The synopsis is not the full story, nor is it a little paragraph or “blurb” like the one you’ll find on the back of a book jacket. It does not outline points nor list anything. Instead, the synopsis tells about a main highlight in each chapter of your novel – not giving the full story but telling about it in the present tense as though your very interesting story is happening right now.

When you complete your manuscript, add a query letter, the same synopsis you just used for writing, and a chapter or two of the novel. Then presto! You now have the fiction book proposal you’ll send to an agent or editor.

Besides this standard book proposal, literary agencies and book publishing companies sometimes have additional preferences they want you to include. To find out, locate the website then follow the writers' guidelines on the Submissions page of the company you think will be the very “best fit” for your book.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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Rejection! Rejection! What’s A Writer To Do?

Here’s the problem: Talented poets and writers often have an unrealistic view (okay, a fantasy) about the freelance writing life. They rightly know they express themselves well on paper so are apt to be shocked, angry, or hurt when an editor sends back their poems or manuscript. Some give up. Some self-publish, and some keep on and on until they find a good fit for their work in the traditional publishing markets.

To get a better idea of what it takes to be a freelance writer, focus on someone you know who works on commission sales. For example, my dad was in real estate, but everyone did not buy the houses he showed. Another family member sold life and health insurance, but everyone did not buy.

Sometimes the timing isn’t right. Sometimes buyers have unrealistic views of the value of a product or service. Sometimes nothing seems to fit, which is how freelancing can also be. Maybe the editor has too much on her mind. Maybe the publisher needs to cut back his product line. Maybe they have recently published something much too similar to your topic or idea.

No matter how you look at it though, the word “rejection” carries some heavy-duty connotations of being unaccepted and, therefore, unacceptable. In this respect, the word is a misnomer because your work may be just fine -- even wonderfully well-written. Your work may be very acceptable to your intended readers, too, but just not to the particular publisher you happened to pick. And, therein lies the probability of rejection.

At least in the beginning, poets and writers seem prone to reject editorial suggestions and writers guidelines provided by most publishing houses. Some think that only their work alone is “special,” so the “rules” do not apply to them or their brilliant idea. Other poets or writers seem to reject the genuine needs, interests, or values of their readers.

This type of mistake (okay, self-centeredness) happens to most of us at first because we’re new to freelancing and still trying to hear our own voice. Maybe we don’t have a clear picture of the publishing industry or don’t realize editors are real people with fairly basic editorial needs. We might not get how crucial it is to identify with our readers, especially if we expect them to identify back and connect with our poems or manuscripts.

When we stop rejecting honest input from our readers and/ or our editor/ publishers and attune ourselves to them -- not as we write but as we revise -- we will still get “rejection” letters. That’s a fact for most of us, but the difference now is that we know our work is worthy, and so are we. If we see our potential readers and editors as worthy too, they will be more likely to accept our poems and writings as something also worthy of their time.

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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler

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How To Read Like A Writer

Writing well often depends on reading well, which means studying a poem or manuscript that you really like to see what works and why. To do this, try asking questions of the text. For instance: Why did the poet or writer use that particular form, structure, setting, viewpoint, character, or ____ (fill in the blank)? What effect did this decision have on the poem or manuscript?

Analyze each of those techniques to give yourself more information about what works well and what does not. Ask, for instance, if the style is formal, loose, or chatty. Does the poem or manuscript have a rhythmic flow when you read the piece aloud? What words jump out? Do they add emphasis or reinforce a sound effect or encourage readers to think more about the topic?

Also notice sensory details. Analyze whether the poet or writer relied more on the sense of sound, sight, smell, taste, touch, or feeling. A well-written poem or manuscript might tap into all of the senses.

Notice the viewpoint or perspective, too. Does anything seem fresh or memorable? If so, what? Be specific. Also ask what would happen if a first person poem or story (I, me, mine, we) were written in second person (you) or third person (he, she, his, hers, them, they.)

Asking questions of a poem or manuscript may seem awkward at first, but your interrogation skills will improve with practice. To ease the task, start with a book, story, article, or poem that you think is poorly written, then focus on the flaws. Identify each as clearly as you can. For instance, you might think a children’s picture book text or a short story for adults has too many characters doing too many things in too short a space. Or maybe a nonfiction article rambles too much to clarify the points. Or maybe you just don’t believe the characters in a novel.

As you precisely identify any flaws, you will begin to read like a writer. More importantly, the process will help you to be less apt to make the same mistakes yourself. If, however, you suspect your work of a similar problem, just ask questions of the poem or manuscript. See what’s not working and why. Then correct those mistakes as you revise.

Mary Sayler

Basic Steps For Writing & Marketing

Study the classics and contemporary works in your genre.

Consider what draws readers to a particular poem, story, article, or book.

Study publications you like to read. Get familiar with magazines, e-zines, journals, and book catalogues of publishers whose work you like.

Consider any potential gaps that your story, poem, article or book might fill.

Plan your work before you begin. Decide on a theme, purpose, and reading audience.

Research each topic thoroughly.

Outline each article or nonfiction book. Write a synopsis of your novel in present tense.

Let your writing flow without criticizing yourself. Let your work rest. Later read those pages as if someone else had written them.

Identify each problem. When you see a problem, you may see a solution too.

Revise to make the manuscript your best work before you try to place it with one editor at a time.

Follow writers’ guidelines carefully as you submit your manuscript. When using the postal service for a submission, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to cover its potential return.

Keep track of where, when, and to whom you mailed your work.

While you’re waiting to hear from the editor, query other editors about your next idea.

Start researching and planning another project.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.

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How To Get Published

Whether you feel drawn to writing poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or children's books, you eventually might want your work to be published by someone other than yourself, but how do you go about it? 

Here are some tips on submitting your work to potential publishers:

• Notice the publishers of books or magazines that you enjoy reading.
• Do these publishers have a website? If so, study the titles in their book lines and the poems or magazine articles in their archives.
• Make a list of publishers whose work seems most in line with yours.
• Study and carefully follow the writers' guidelines on each company's website.
• Submit your complete manuscript or batch of 3-5 poems to one editor at a time.
• Keep track of where and when you sent your work. If you do not have a response in a few months, follow-up.
• While you wait to hear about one manuscript, start another.
• If the editor sends back your submission, read it aloud. Listen for any rough spots. Revise as needed, then submit your poems or manuscript to the next potential publisher on your list.

(c) 2009, Mary Harwell Sayler; updated 2021