Writing a screenplay is a lengthy process that requires an organized mind. It’s not just about writing a great story, it’s about pacing, characterization, and (most importantly) intertwining the scenes in a logical, story-telling format. And even if you do manage to get a script completed, the odds of getting it produced are slim to none.

Breaking into the publishing business is not easy, especially in this economy. A logical, organized approach may tilt the publishing odds in your favor.

Publishers are often very tactful while wooing authors. Their reservations are shared after you cash the advance check. It would take several books to describe all of the mistakes we authors sometimes make. Here’s a list of a few steps you can take that will help you avoid them.

Your au­di­ence may be wider than you think. Your mar­ket­ing plan should in­clude strate­gies for reach­ing sev­er­al dif­fer­ent tar­get au­di­ences.

Putting up a nice website, writing a blog, twittering and facebooking, doing a book trailer or a press release and the like, while commendable, are not really going to set you apart, as nearly every single one of those 500,000 authors and companies and 400 million owners of those sites are doing this also. Everybody is doing this. So, what will work?

Writing and editing are two totally different tasks. Writing is a creative process. Editing is a critical process. Each task demands a very specific focus; each must be handled separately. Editing should not start until the writing task is completed.