Dollars and Deadlines' 10 Truths Every Writer Who Wants to Get Published Should Know

So, you're a writer—or want to be one. Chances are you started out writing for yourself, but now you think you'd like to take the next step and publish your work. The thought makes you excited—and probably nervous, too.

When you're writing only for your own satisfaction, there are no rules dictating what you can and can't do. You can scribble on the back of a legal pad, scratch a poem on a bar napkin with a leaky ballpoint pen, or hammer out your novel on a dusty old typewriter with an aging...