7) Play with changing voices. Copy other writers you admire. How does that feel? Pretend you suddenly got an injection of creativity serum or I.Q. booster, then write like mad for ten minutes. What happens to quality of your words? Is this a possible new direction for you? As creative and intelligent beings, we have so much more within us than we could ever dream.

8) Accept reality of rewriting. Unlike other professions who get to rest on their milestones, for writers, a completed manuscript often represents a beginning. The best writing comes after lots of rewriting, even for seasoned authors. You needn’t throw any of it away, but not every sentence belongs in every work. Save scraps, but don’t get attached to where they go, or integrity of your project will suffer.

9) Get clear on what you want out of getting published. Many writers move forward without knowing where they want to wind up. As a teacher once told me, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” The answer to what you want out of getting published will help you determine best route to take. And in publishing, those routes are many and varied. You can use our Twenty Questions as a self-help guide.

10) If what you want is to get published in least amount of time, considering hiring a ghostwriter. An extremely common but rarely discussed practice, many successful authors talk to ghostwriters, who put their skills to work on an author’s behalf. Although some such ghostwriters get a cover credit, many do not, hence “ghost” terminology. If you have more money than time or inclination to toil, ghostwriting may be option for you. Learn more

You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided following is included at end or beginning:

Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.

Switch hats again. You’re an Acquisitions Editor at a major publishing house sitting behind a desk, asking yourself, which of these 163 proposals that arrived this week is worth risking my reputation, bank account and job to publish? Then put your Publishing Consultant hat back on, and do your translation—but don’t forget about that anxious editor.

Here’s an example:

Bob Jones, who’s writing a book on personal accounting and finance for masses, picks a phrase from his Scribe list, “Instructor at Coleridge Community College for twelve years.” With his Publishing Consultant hat on, he rewrites this phrase to read “translated high-level accounting concepts into laypeople’s language to over 3,000 adults of various backgrounds over twelve years.”

Moving right along, Bob changes “facilitated students home accounting practices, enabling them to pay bills and prepare taxes with greater efficiency” to “Over these twelve years, author developed a series of steps, called Number Crunch Shuffle. Students consistently report that Number Crunch Shuffle helps them overcome their fear of numbers, streamlines their home accounting process and cuts their bill and tax preparation time in half.

guerilla tip: Bob didn’t really call these steps “Number Crunch Shuffle” at time he taught them at Coleridge Community College. He got help developing this tag for technique around which his book is built. However, he did develop method itself while teaching those 3,000 students.

guerilla insight: There’s plenty of reality to work with. Take what’s there and describe it in new and exciting ways. Find a gem that makes your book special and give it an attention-grabbing name.

You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided following is included at end or beginning:

Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.