If you’re serious about writing for publication, you’ve likely heard all the tips before. I like to sum them up as the 3 Ps:

PERSEVERANCE, PATIENCE, and POSTAGE.

And not necessarily in that order.

PERSEVERANCE: Being a writer takes lots of staying power, especially if you want to write a long-term work such as a novel. I wrote Stuck Down while working a fulltime day job and raising two teenagers. It wasn’t easy. To help make it work, I learned to be a time thief. I sought and got a job that was a mile from home to cut out commute time. Since I live in Los Angeles, that’s quite an accomplishment, not to mention a timesaver. I’d drop my kids off at school and have an hour to write before I left for work. Usually later in the evening, I’d write another hour or two. I’m a night owl. Others might prefer to get up earlier than I do and do all their writing in the morning. Whatever works for you, as long as it works.

So it takes discipline and commitment. Some people work well with a pre-set structured time; others prefer more flexibility. It’s my opinion you’ll have greater success at completing your writing goals if you write consistently, even if in smaller chunks of time, at about the same time each day. It gets a flow going and before you know it, you send a message to your subconscious that you’re not going away. You’re sitting your butt in your chair and writing. Rather than fighting yourself, something within you decides to cooperate. This is simply conditioning much like Pavlov’s dog. You train your brain to respond by setting up times, situations, or rituals associated with writing, i.e., I sit at my computer at 7:00 a.m. each week day with a cup of coffee, wearing my "writing slippers." The end result is that writing happens at 7:00 a.m. as I’m drinking coffee, wearing a pair of silly slippers, because I’ve trained myself that writing is the natural response under those circumstances.

It’s important to be realistic about how much time you can write each day. I find it’s best to keep your expectations low so you don’t set yourself up for failure. To start, you might want to set a ridiculously easy goal of 10-15 minutes. Maybe it’s a goal of one paragraph. This way, you set yourself up for success. And likely, you’ll exceed this goal and really feel like you’re speeding along. As you set short blocks of time, if you find that you’re consistently writing an hour a day, then change your goal to realistically reflect what you now have disciplined yourself to do.

There are definitely days when the unexpected comes up, perhaps your family needs you more than usual, and you just don’t have time. Don’t beat yourself up mentally. It happens. Of course, there’s room for flexibility. Nothing is more tedious or hampering than rigidity. If you believe in your book and have passion for your own writing, you’ll likely be driven enough to stick with it even as the rest of your life happens.

I should tell you that I don’t write everyday. When I’m in the middle of a book, though, I usually write six days a week, taking one weekend day off for other things, preferably leisure.

POSTAGE: I probably don’t need to explain this one. Basically, when your manuscript is ready, get it in the mail. However, don’t send it out until you’ve done rewrites and revision upon revision. Make your manuscript the best it can be so it’ll shine. Once you feel your manuscript is done, put it down and work on something else for a week or two, maybe even a month. Get some reading done. Say hi to your family and see if they remember you.

After a few weeks, read your manuscript again and see if anything new screams out, "Revise me!" You’d be surprised at what a little distance can do for your objectivity. And speaking of objectivity, definitely get another pair of eyes to read your work and give you input, such as a writers’ group.

You may be one of those people who loves revising and doesn’t know when to stop. At some point, if you find you’re changing things and making the manuscript worse, you know it’s time to stop revising and send your manuscript on a trip through the mail.

PATIENCE: In this business, usually it takes a l-o-o-o-o-n-g time to get a response from a publisher. Unless you have an agent, trust that your manuscript (or query letter) is happily sitting in a slush pile and will continue to do so for some time. Learn to cultivate patience. In some ways, perseverance is easier. It’s active. At least you’re doing something, that something being writing. But patience is a different story. It’s about waiting. It’s an art to be able to rest inside while still moving toward your destination.

The best thing you can do is to keep busy with the next writing project and not think so much about the manuscripts that are lounging in the New York City publisher slush. At some point, it may be appropriate to request a status, but as a general rule, however long the publisher’s guidelines say it’ll take, I would multiply that number by two if you want to be realistic.

Did I mention you’ve got to LOVE to write? The business of writing can try you right down to your soul. Loving the craft is what sustains us. Don’t get me wrong; getting that phone call offering a contract is a thrill like no other. Receiving payment validates you as a writer. All of that is great, but it’s fleeting. The ultimate joy is in the writing itself.