Viktorya Tassi asked Melanie Dickerson:

I was wondering if you had any advice for someone who wants to become published?

Melanie Dickerson Hi, Victorya! Here's the answer I gave previously:
I would say, first of all, pray a lot! Let God guide you at every point in the journey. Try to enjoy it, make friends with other writers, and work hard. Practically speaking, you need to be willing to learn as much as possible. Read lots of great books on writing, like The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon
Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
Go Teen Writers by Williamson and Morrill
and read the archives of blogs like http://seekerville.blogspot.com/
http://www.killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/
http://www.acfw.com/blog/
http://goteenwriters.com.
Write as much and as often as you can to practice what you are learning. Revise your own work and swap critiques of your work with other writers so you can learn from each other. Don't ever self-publish something that hasn't been edited and revised many times by you, and at least two or three other people. Never stop learning and applying what you learn. But most of all, keep praying and trusting God to guide your career.
I wish you all the best!
And also, Victorya, if you really want a large traditional publisher to publish your books, you need to get an agent first, but you must be careful, because there are disreputable people out there claiming to be agents. If an agent asks you for money, then stay away from them! Reputable agents never ask for money. They get paid when they sell your work to a publisher. So be careful not to get scammed, either by false agents or vanity publishers who ask for thousands of dollars. Publishers pay YOU, not the other way around.
I wish you the best!

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