Expert: Susan Rand - 1/20/2005

Question
I am creating my own personal fantasy world, and I am going to start writing novels based off my world.  I emailed wizards of the coast, for a chance to prove myself and if so hopefully get signed on as a permanent writer for them.  There website is www.tsr.com
and I was hoping for advice, on creating my world, or writing the novels, or explanation on how the process will probably go after one is written or something like that.
and What my chances might be of making it as a writer.  of fantasy and science fiction books.

Answer
Hello West!

It does no good to ask what your chances might be for they are low indeed - the same as mine, and your next door neighbor's. It is very difficult to get published today, but it's not impossible. Your task is to beat those odds.

I have no doubt that as you go along you will have many questions on novel-writing and how to get published. I have no idea of what you need to know, so I can't help you with that. When you have specific questions, come back and we will go from there.

As far as world building is concerned, a lady named Patricia Wrede has developed a series of questions that will help you in building your world. They are excellent. You'll find them here: http://www.io.com/~eighner/world_builder/world_builder_index.html (You will have to cut and paste as this site does not support hyperlinks.)

The secret to writing good books of any kind, and getting them published is persistence. You must stay in school and learn all you can about spelling, grammar and English composition. You must write, all the time, at least every day. You must read books and study. It's a good idea to join some writing forums - excellent advice given there. And write. And write, and write again. That's all there is to it.

I hope this has helped. If it has, a nice rating would be greatly appreciated. I am proud of my high score over 370+ questions.

And good luck with your writing!