Education How To Be A Published Writer

If you would like to be a published writer you are going to need a couple of things starting with a passion for writing. I started writing as soon as I got a crayon in my hand. Then when I was 11 in 1975. I started keeping a small lock and key diary with a bright yellow and red Snoopy picture. I would write whatever came to a 11 year-old's mind. I have entries in my diary about what I would do for my birthday party, where my family went and who I liked and didn't like at school. The one that makes me laugh is "My sister hit me". Now I realize the importance of those four words. I found a place for myself, a place to put my own thoughts but most importantly I have proof 30 years later that my sister hit me.; ) As I got older, I started writing travel diaries. I have about 15 handwritten diaries in my garage that I wrote when I was between 19 and 30. Sometimes I would like to burn them because I'm afraid what my children will think one day. They probably won't be so interested in mommy's life. Still, I travelled around the world doing the cafe' diary bit for a while then I decided to really give writing a try. If you want to write, do it. Just take out a pen and write. How to get published The first time I got published as a writer I was in high school. It helped to have friends in high places. I was president of my high school so the job was sort of just assigned to me. One of my teachers came up to me and said Julie, you are going to have to write a weekly article for the school newspaper. A couple of weeks later, I saw my name in print for the first time with a headline saying 'Howdy Cowboys'. What a laugh. From then, I moved to Europe and remained one of the few people who actually knew English so it was pretty much certain that I would get published in the first English magazine in our city. Lucky for me, the publisher became a good friend of mine. She had great taste in style and the magazine was a big success. From there, I just continued writing. I would write or suggest stories to my publisher and she usually printed them. Sometimes, my publisher friend would give me assignments, for example she'd say Julie, there's a new art opening on Friday, can you cover it? I continue to write for pleasure just as I continue to paint pictures of flowers, just as I love reading other people's stories. Also, I would suggest you write from the heart and write as you speak. Finally the easiest way to get published is to publish yourself - just as I am doing here. Thank you for visiting. Comments are appreciated. Have a great day. Have you ever been published? What sort of things do you like to write about?

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