Most writers want to know if there is a magic formula to getting published in any capacity, and most published writers will tell you that there isn’t one. The only way to get published is to continuously send your work out there. The trick is to figure out the “continuous” part.

As a working writer, I have discovered one kind of formula for success. The best part is that it is free! This formula comes in three easy steps, and if you stick to them, you can improve your chances of seeing more of your work published.

All you need to do are these three things: keep writing, keep submitting and keep earning!

Keep Writing

You know the advice to “write every day.” Try taking this credo one step further by writing everything you get ideas for. Besides articles, I also write short fiction. One day, I was inspired by an idea for a short story. I didn’t know where to send it, but I wrote that story anyway. I later found somewhere to submit it.

How This Can Work For You

Writing variety can help you sell more work. How cool is it to be paid to write something you don’t normally write? By diversifying your writing skills and learning how to write other types of material, you, too, can get more ideas for other kinds of work and achieve more sales. If you prefer, take a course in order to learn how to write something new here.

Keep Submitting

In addition to writing every day, it’s a good idea to submit every day. What? Submit your writing every day? Impossible! You don’t have to submit your writing every single day, but you do need to keep submitting something. That something can be either work that is ready to submit, a query letter, book proposal, job proposal, pitch or a letter of introduction. Find the markets you can write for, look up clients, check out contest listings, read magazine writers guidelines and check out anthology calls. Just keep submitting or querying to see if anything strikes gold.

How This Can Work For You

Continuously putting yourself out there can help you get published. Submit queries (etc.) and see if anything bites. If you’re a writer looking for long-term work, apply for writing jobs. The website ProBlogger lists many. Other websites offer market listings; FundsforWriters newsletter often lists several writing opportunities. If you want to be a content writer, apply at sites such as nDash. Search Twitter for tweets with the “pitch” or “writers” or “query” hashtags to locate markets open to queries. Follow accounts that post jobs for writers, such as @mediabistro and @writejobs. Finally, apply at job writing sites such as Upwork to send out proposals for writing gigs.

C. Hope Clark followed a regimen called Keep 13 in Play. Whether a nonfiction feature, an essay, a book manuscript, or a short story, she kept 13 queries outstanding. As one was accepted or rejected, she stopped and submitted more, to maintain that number 13. The cool thing is when she was rejected, she submitted a new piece to the market that rejected her while her name was fresh in their mind, and she submitted the old piece to a new market. Pick a number of your own.

Keep Earning

Don’t stop at diversifying your writing skills; diversify yourself as well. Go into business for yourself. In addition to freelancing, I’m also a ghostwriter. Some writers also work as editors or cover designers.

How This Can Work For You

Tap into your skills to boost your earnings. Ghostwriting, editing, and cover design are always in demand. Jobs for a proofreader, copywriter, indexer, and fact-checker exist as well. You can find opportunities for this kind of work at sites such as Upwork or Fiverr.  If you have the educational background or experience, consider monetizing this particular skill and teach online classes like at WOW-womenonwriting.com and SavvyAuthors.com.

There are a variety of markets, jobs and writing opportunities available. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can get more acceptances and earn more money with your work. Tap into your skills so that you can keep writing, keep pitching, and start earning!

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Dawn Colclasure writes short fiction as well as novels. She also writes nonfiction books, such as BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents and 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat The Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity. Her articles, essays, poems, book reviews and short stories have been published in regional and national newspapers and magazines, as well as online and in anthologies. She is also a content writer, ghostwriter, and freelance writer. She lives and writes in Oregon with her husband and children. Her Web site is at https://www.dmcwriter.com/ and her Twitter is @dawncolclasure.
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