These eight romance writing and publishing tips are from novelist Mary Jo Putney, speaking at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in British Columbia. Here are some of her best tips on writing, editing, and publishing….

Before the tips, here’s a quip from Putney:

“When your book comes out, there will be errors in the text,” she says.

Okay, this may not seem like a brilliant writing quip, but I love it because 1) it increases my faith that I will indeed be a published book author (fellow scribes, keep saying to yourself, “When my book comes out, when my book comes out,”…and one day it will happen!); and 2) her quip reassures me that no writing is perfect, no matter how many readers or editors have combed through it. Even published writing isn’t perfect.

To learn about one of Mary Jo Putney’s historical romances, click the book cover of Dragon Lovers. And, read on for her tips for successful writers…

8 Romance Writing and Publishing Tips

1. Writing is an insecure business. “As a writer, you’re dooming yourself to insecurity,” says Mary Jo Putney. Even established writers worry. “If your numbers are slipping, you worry. If your numbers stay the same, you worry.”

2. Be wary of critique groups. Putney says she may not have been published if she had a critique group. She didn’t know the “rules” of writing. If she had, she may not have written her first book.

3. Learn what writing advice to follow, and what to ignore. This is a gut instinct that you’ll develop, says Putney. Continually refine your judgment and learn what’s essential to your story.

4. Think about getting a literary agent. Agents know the markets better, and they’re a buffer to the business aspects of writing. Putney recommends getting an agent – but cautions that it is difficult. It’s easier for agents to deal with professional writers, so it’s hard for new writers to land an agent. But, she says, even a bad agent is worse than no agent at all.

5. Read popular writing. Make sure your work is marketable, but don’t let market trends dictate your work. Vampires, for instance, are incredibly popular, but not every writer can write about them (or wants to). So, Putney advises knowing what’s popular, but not chasing them.

6. Get resilient! “Being a successful writer isn’t just about talent,” says Putney. “To be a long-term writer requires a special type of resilience. I once spent a solid year without any income.” This was after she was already on the New York Times list. (For extra help with dealing with rejection as a writer, read 17 Reasons Book Manuscripts are Rejected).

7. The business of writing. “Lots of people have talent, but to keep going back and keep writing takes a particular personality type,” says Putney. “It’s not necessarily smarts or talent.” She also says that publishing is a business, so it’s good to have a business background and approach.

8. Get used to editing yourself. Stories need to move quickly, and anything that doesn’t contribute to the story shouldn’t be there.

What’s your favorite writing or publishing tip above? I love the idea of resilience, because successful writers have to learn to bounce back from rejection and failure.

~ Resources for Writers & Bloggers ~

Want to make your blog "sticky", so visitors stay longer? Try this beta "Click and Stick" program -- it's free!

But before you can entice visitors to stick to your blog, you need to learn a bit of search engine optimization. Scribe SEO offers information for web writers, bloggers, and affiliate marketers.

And, to find more freelance writing and editing jobs, consider joining GoFreelance.