By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

For many years, I’ve known about the Catch-22 of publishing. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines Catch-22 as “a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.” Several years ago in Spokane, I taught a workshop 12 Ways to Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and the details are in my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams book.

Here’s the problematic situation for every new writer: they want to get published yet professionals (editors and literary agents) are looking for people with publishing experience. It’s the same sort of situation you face when you enter the job market and need to create a resume which lists your job experience (yet you have nothing to list). What is the best way for writers to gain publishing experience? It is not in book publishing. Books are lengthy writing projects and sometimes reach a limited number of readers (yes even when traditionally published). The easiest way for a writer to escape the Catch-22 of Publishing is to write magazine articles.

I have written an Ebook called How to Succeed As An Article Writer (www.writeamagazinearticle.com ) I began my writing career in the magazine area and continue to often write for magazines. For seven years, I wrote a column for Southern Writer Magazine about book proposals called Book Proposal Boot Camp.

Here’s another resource to help you succeed in the magazine writing world. My long-term friend, Linda Gilden, has published Articles, Articles, Articles! Subtitled, A Comprehensive Guide. This book is an excellent resource and Gilden has done a great service to the writing community publishing this book. In the introduction, Gilden tells how as a stay-at-home mom with small children, writing articles seemed her best option to get published, “My children were small and still required a lot of hands-on attention. So, my writing sessions were short, very short or nonexistent. Much of what I wrote took place in my head until naptime, then I wrote furiously hoping the children were exhausted and would sleep a long time.” (Page 11)

Escape the Catch-22 of Publishing by @TerryWhalin on @BRMCWC

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This book contains a cornucopia of information for every writer. Here’s some of the topics covered: where to get started, how to break in, types of articles, elements of articles, the rights to sell, marketing your articles and even how articles are a great way to market books and build an author’s presence in the marketplace (commonly called a platform).

In addition to Gilden’s own depth of experience writing for magazines, throughout the book, she includes tips from other editors, authors and professionals called “Expert Word.” Also, key phrases are scattered throughout the book to remind reader of key lessons such as, “A kill fee is a fee that is paid when a contracted article is never published.” Whether you are brand new to the writing world or an experienced professional, you will gain insights and ideas and action steps from Articles, Articles, Articles!

Writers do much more than publish books. If you write for magazines and have never published a book, call yourself a writer. Magazines have a shorter turnaround time than books and as you publish articles, you will have the publishing experience to capture attention for your book ideas with editors and literary agents. Your actions as a writer to write for publication have allowed you to avoid the Catch-22 of publishing.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s newest book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com