It doesn't take a genius or tons of talent. It just takes patience and persistence.

When I started writing, I was worst writer that ever lived. I still can't believe I was crazy enough to send out some of those early articles.

If it wasn't for freedom of net, I would have been dead in water. No editor would have ever published my ghastly ramblings.

Luckily it was my ezine and I could practice and learn. With only 300 subscribers I had nothing to lose.

Eventually I started becoming readable. Not very good just readable.

My good friend internet let me keep plodding along.

Not being a writer - This is number one mistake that writers make. If you are a writer, then you had better be writing. You cannot publish what you don't write. Don't talk about what you are going to write, don't discuss your articles before writing them, and don't spend endless hours trying to find people to purchase your articles. Just write: query letters and articles. Write them fast and furious. That's what a writer does.

Not writing constantly - If you call yourself a writer, then you had better be writing. In fact, you should be writing constantly, every single day if you can. What do you write? Write an article on something, anything, that you feel you can write about.

Giving into writer's block - You can defeat writer's block. You are a writer, so write. Can't write? Just start writing and don't worry about what comes out.

Re-writing too many times - Some writers like to edit and rewrite an article over and over again. Personally, I write a pretty good article first time and one quick edit usually finishes it up. Some people need a few more edits. But don't over edit. Your job is to communicate words and concepts on paper, not edit them to death.

Not editing enough - No matter how good your first drafts are, be sure and look it over at least once for spelling mistakes and grammar errors.

Plagiarizing - It's perfectly okay to get ideas from other articles, books, movies, and even television shows. It's not okay to steal another writers work, and it's also not acceptable to paraphrase an article. You can quote from other sources (this is called "fair use") but you cannot make other's work your own.Talking about an article before writing it - I know of very few people who can talk about an article concept with another person and then successfully write that article later. Writing is communicating on paper (or on a computer), not talking about what you want to write.

Asking people if your writing is "okay" - If you are taking a class in writing, then this is a fine thing to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother trying to get criticism from anyone except a professional editor. Before I learned this lesson, I stopped writing more articles than I can count simply because of others tearing my work apart. Now, I don't ask for or accept criticism on my works, unless it's from a professional editor to whom I am attempting to sell one of my articles. It is acceptable to get criticism from one's agent, as that is one of tasks that an agent is paid to do.