Goodreads asked K.R. Fraser:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

K.R. Fraser Hone your skills and practice, practice, practice. Before you can ever go to publishing, you need to perfect your craft as a writer. Brush up your grammar, your punctuation, your spelling and your sentence structure. Learn formatting for the specific section of the industry you are writing for (ie - screen writing is far different in format than novel writing). You should also learn to edit your own work before sending it off to professional editors. Publishers look for polished works that need little to no work on them, and expect that when a written work is submitted, that it is primarily ready for publication. At the point you are ready to query, your work should be as free of mistakes as possible and properly formatted. It should be professionally proofread as well, because these are all things the acquisition editor looks for when considering any submitted work. It is also what agents look at when considering representing you.

When you are ready to query, do your research on agents first. Every agent has specific genres they represent, and they are always on the look out for new talent in their areas. However, they do go through periods where they have a full roster of clients and are not accepting any new submissions. This does not mean your work is not good. It means they have no room for new clients at that time. If you do your research first, then you can identify what agents are looking for new works in your genre. Then you have a better chance of getting noticed and won't be wasting your time or the agents you are querying.

If you get a rejection letter, save it and count it as a stepping stone. Most agents don't have the time to send rejection letters and simply don't answer, adding submitted works that aren't ready for publishing to the slush pile. So if you received a rejection letter, it means they noticed your work, but it either wasn't ready or was not right for their representation. It should never be looked on as anything more than the next step in your journey.

Writing professionally is the same as any other industry when it comes to a skill set. You have to hone and polish your abilities, your prose, and your knowledge not just about writing itself, but with how the publishing side of this industry works. Yes, you can self-publish. But even if you do, the public still wants a polished and well-written work. That only comes with a great deal of dedication and hard work, and it does not happen overnight. Be patient and diligent, and you will get there. Dreams are only dreams when you do not actively pursue them.

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