I want to be an author, of both books and graphic novels (would that make me an artist in both senses? writing and art?) I would like to know if you have any advice for me that includes colleges that promote writing, or books that would expand my knowledge of how to get my work out there. I have a wattpad account, which helps, but I want to get my work out there. Any tips? Thank you in advance.

Jodi Meadows I don't know anything about graphic novels and how to make that happen, so I can't help you there. But as far as novels, college is up to you. You can go to school for an MFA if you want. You can go to school for history or science or farming cows -- whatever interests you -- and still write. Or you can skip the college thing altogether and just write. (Though be aware: you will need some sort of income to Not Starve while you're working to get published.)

Plenty of successfully published authors have taken all those paths and more. In my experience, the actual writing is the most important part of the process. That, and the critique end.

Critique taught me not just to receive suggestions for how to make my stories better, but how to give them. How to spot them in other people's writing. How to gracefully accept criticism. How to thoughtfully word it.

I read wiser writers' critiques of stories/chapters I'd read; I learned from them.

The other thing is for you to decide what kind of publishing you want to do. Self pub? Traditional? Hybrid? Figure out your goal, learn everything about it (too many classes about writing do not teach about the business end of publishing, but you need to know about it), and work toward that goal with everything you've got.

Hope that helps!

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