Shortcuts to becoming a writer

Traditional Routes

The traditional route to book publication is to build up a list of magazine publications then put together a book. In the UK you might try

Poetry - PN Review, Poetry Review, Rialto, London Magazine, Leviathan Quarterly, Stand
Stories - Granta, London Magazine

Some of these markets are rather crowded - e.g. the UK's Poetry Review receives over 30,000 poems a year, and The New Yorker gets 50,000 poems a year of which it prints 50.There's a chance that after a few years of magazine appearances a publisher might notice your work. However, the book situation is bleaker still, with many poetry publishers not taking on anyone new. The short story situation's no happier. Mainstream publishers published only 135 single-author story collections in 2002 - 25% are commissioned and many of the others are by dead or overseas writers.

So you may need to consider less traditional methods. In the UK you can

Alternative approaches

Start by writing genre pieces - in particular SF/slipstream/Urban-gothic stories.
Do a Masters in creative writing as at UEA (where Pretext comes from) or Manchester
Get onto the performance circuit
Become a celeb first, then publish later - see Viggo Mortenson
Find a gimmick. If you can sell 100 or so copies on the strength of radio interviews, press releases, you're viable. So corner the market on football poetry, allotment poetry, popstar poetry. Write in the nude.
Apply for all the grants/awards you hear of. The Society of Authors and Regional Arts Boards can help. If you're young enough, try for a Gregory award.
Try to get into any book you can. Some Regional Arts Boards fund anthologies. Find out what themed anthologies publishers are planning
Go to conferences. Mingle at coffee breaks.
Put aside money to enter in the main annual competitions - Bridport (Poetry and Prose), National Poetry Competition, Peterloo Poetry Competition
Build up a CV of work in schools, readings, writers-in-residences, tutoring.
It may not be worth trying to publish stories in magazines before producing a book - go for the book straight away - preferably a novel
Consider WWW publications

Shortcuts to becoming a writer

Traditional Routes

Alternative approaches

See Also