Writing professionally

[gurgeh]

I've done it semi-professionally at times since I graduated from college. I've written for newspapers, websites, and even a PC game strategy guide, but right now I'm not getting paid anything for my movie and DVD reviews. I don't really expect to make a lot doing that, but I do consider myself fairly skilled and would like to write fiction. If anyone out there has the experience, I'd be interested in how you got your start. Did you have to shop short stories around before getting a novel published? Has anyone else around made a successful transition from nonfiction to fiction? I'm flying kind of blind right now, just looking for input.

[Duke]

I don't know about general fiction, but I'd suggest reading the books by Card and Tuttle. How to write Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction. A lot of the material toward the end of them (about getting published) should be applicable across the whole industry.

I'm not a pro, but I think I now have a decent idea of what to do, and what not to do, when I finally produce some sort of a manuscript.

~D