Let me start by telling you there isn’t a magic genie floating around in this post. Promise. So, don’t look. What I can promise is encouragement and a factual ingredient to succeed.
Since I started seriously putting pen to paper, I’ve encountered writers of all genres and age categories. But they all have one thing in common: wanting to know how to succeed in getting published. Sounds simple right?
It’s not.
Inspiration strikes and a writer splatters his fingers all over his keyboard. Voila! A brilliant manuscript is born. His NY Times Bestselling Novel is sent to all agents that area a perfect fit. Then he sits back and refreshes the inbox of his email, over and over. Finally, rejection after rejection starts trickling in. Some days, nothing but crickets (because most agents won’t send anything if they aren’t interested).
Doubt seeps into the writer.
Maybe his story wasn’t so brilliant after all. Maybe his writing sucks. Or maybe, just maybe, the agents don’t know what they’re talking about (but deep down he knows they do). What is he doing wrong? He is ready to put the manuscript away and never look back. He doesn’t know what made him think he could write.
Well, I’m here to tell you that HE was the one who said he could write. He felt it in his gut, he heard the story in his head and he made it happen. Sure, the man can self-pub if that’s what he chooses to do (and I wouldn’t without getting an editor, betas, etc.). But, what he really wants is to have his novel traditionally published. He wants a doggone fantastical agent! So, what should he do?
Never stop.
Yes, it’s that simple. The key ingredient to successful publishing is to never-ever give up! Think about it. If you’re writing a novel and give up, it never gets wrote. If you stop honing your craft, your writing suffers and is never perfected. If you stop submitting queries, you’ll never get an agent. And so forth, and so forth. Thus, my advice is to never stop. NEVER. EVER. EVER!
And remember, you ARE a brilliant writer and your story MUST be told (say this in the mirror every day). Perseverance is the key. As always, good luck and happy writing.
P.D Pabst
Blogger and writer of MG/YA Fiction
pdpabst 
And even when you get a book published, you have to write another … and another … When my first book was published, crusty old farts (like I am now) said that when I’d written five or six, people would start taking notice. And you know what? They were right. There are no short cuts. It takes years of hard work to become an overnight sensation.
You’re absolutely right (but not about being an old fart). Once a publishing deal is found, the perseverance must continue. It’s a long road. Sometimes a tough one. But can be rewarding to those who don’t give up.
I am old and a fart. And also much more enormous than I thought. I saw myself in a video recently and will now append the following to my name ‘appears courtesy of the Sea Mammal Research Unit’. Euphemistically I describe my figure as ‘heroic’, and Crox Minor (16) said the loveliest thing today – ‘more of you to hug’. Bless!