By Jill Nagle

Like any field, excellent writing requires study, practice and mentorship. Very few successful authors ever published their first draft of their first work. Nearly all had to expend considerable effort to improve their craft. Here are some ways to prepare for that moment of publication. These tips also help keep you on your toes after publication for better and better writing results as your career develops.

1) Read, read, read in your field. You can never read too much when you’re trying to excel as a writer. Reading in your field helps you develop a discerning eye. You need this discerning eye for when you step back and look at your own work.

2) Cultivate role models. Know who top-selling authors are in your field. Find out more about them. How did they get to where they are? Do searches in Internet (available in most libraries-ask your librarian how to use a search engine) for information about particular authors whose careers you admire. Let your role models inspire rather than daunt you. There is no competition, only inspiration, potential teachers and opportunities for cooperation. That author you envy this year may be writing a blurb for your first novel next year.

3) Research your markets. If you want to publish in periodicals, whether literary fiction, journalistic writing, or anything else, realize publication standards serve a purpose other than to frustrate new authors.

4) Take classes. Many cities offer writing classes through community colleges or local writing groups. Online writing classes are popping up everywhere. If possible, choose a writing teacher who has published in a field you’d like to enter. Even better, find someone you already consider a mentor. Not every published author has what it takes to offer beginning writers what they need, but many do.

5) Join or start a writer’s group in your area. We teach best what we most need to learn. There is no better way to improve your own writing than to help others with theirs.

Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by “experts,” that is people who have a) earned credentials in field they’re writing about, b) germinated information via articles, live presentations or other media, or c) had extraordinary, unique or memorably told life experiences relevant to their topic.

For an autobiographical work, such as a memoir, an author needn’t have any special expertise—she is foremost authority on her own life. For a how-to or self-help book, however, first thing mainstream publishers want to know is, “Does author have a platform?”

Among multiple definitions of “platform” in Merriam Webster’s 10th edition are 1) a place from which to speak, 2) a set of principles, and 3) a vehicle for carrying things. All these are important to an author’s platform. The good news is, in six to eighteen months it will take most authors to write either their book proposal or their entire book, they can develop a platform.

Here are some things editors look for in a platform:

- publications in field demonstrating your expertise - a mailing list - pamphlets, tapes or other media carrying messages related to those in your book - teaching or leading experience on topic of your book - a column - a unique point of view with demonstrable appeal - regular speaking engagements - courses taught at a local venue - a well-designed website

The section of nonfiction proposal entitled Author’s Bio or Author’s Credentials details information about author’s platform. Many aspiring authors I work with, at least initially, grossly underrepresent themselves in this section.

SOLUTION 1: WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE—THEN SWITCH HATS! Assume that you probably already have more of a platform than you know. Instead of beginning by writing your bio in paragraph form, put on your Scribe hat and make a list—yes, that’s right, a long, tedious, unsexy list—of everything you’ve done that seems even remotely related to your book.