Creative Writing For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 26

Ten Ways to Get Noticed

IN THIS CHAPTER

Keeping your message simple

Sending your work out

Staying positive

Sometimes you may feel as if everyone’s writing a novel, penning a poem, or trying to sell their screenplay. Pretending that you don’t face a huge amount of competition out there is pointless. To get yourself noticed, do the best work you can and be as professional as possible in the way you handle yourself. Here are a few tips.

Practice Your Pitch and Keep it Short

Prepare a short pitch to use whenever you meet someone who may be able to help you professionally – just a simple sentence or two, summarizing your work and the general area it covers.

For example:

I’m writing a short novel for teenagers about a young man who discovers that his father is not the man he thought he was. He sets out on a quest to find his natural father and finds himself in a world of criminals and drug-pushers and his life is endangered.

Or:

I’m writing a biography of my great-grandmother, who set off on a journey through Africa and ended up working as a missionary in Tanzania. I’ve just spent two months there researching the background and come up with some amazing discoveries. ...