My journey to being a published author has been a little Legally Blonde-esque, but my publisher wants all the new authors to write a post that could be helpful to other writers. So, here’s the advice I’d give to myself when I started. Hopefully, it’ll be helpful to you!

1. Write like no one is going to read it. Edit so anyone can read it.

You don’t have to read any further. This is my best advice.

I wrote my first book paralyzed with the fear that people would judge me by my writing. Consequently, the end product was awful and will never see the light of day.

Then, I remembered why I write: because my brain hurts when I don’t. Writing is therapy, and therapy only works when I’m honest.

So, when I started writing Never Touched, I assumed no one would want to read a twisted story narrated by an irreverent teenager and written by a Christian author. I had never read a book in the New Adult genre and didn’t have a particular reader in mind when I started. I just wrote the most genuinely flawed protagonist I could and let her tell her story. Anytime I was concerned that her words were too brash or too dark, I let her say them anyway because at least they were true.

2. Take a shower.

Or sit in traffic with the radio off. Or go for a walk with your cell phone in your pocket. You’ll be amazed at the scenes your brain comes up with when it’s resting.

3. Collect helpful quotes about writing from the greatest.

I have a cork board in my bedroom (where I usually write) with advice from Hemingway, James Patterson, and Stephen King. I also keep marked-up drafts of my old chapters from writer’s group there for encouragement and to remind me of my habitual mistakes.

4. Make characters so real they can make their own choices

Get to know your protagonist. If she’s not like you, research, research, research (but don’t let this stop you from getting started on your first draft). I spent a lot of time learning about the psychological and social effects of sexual abuse and trauma, including consulting health professionals and reading a survivor memoir, Not My Secret to Keep.

Next, empathize completely. Be so honest with your own emotions it makes you uncomfortable, then write your character’s experiences out of that discomfort. Get personal. It’s fiction. No one needs to know where you end and the protagonist starts or if there is any overlap at all. For more about how I developed my protagonist, check out The Evolution of Sawyer.

5. Throw away your first draft

I was about 60,000 words into a very different version of Never Touched when I read Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and started Dark Places. I took two long days off from writing to evaluate my voice as an author, and realized my current draft wasn’t me, and, more importantly, wasn’t Sawyer. On the third day, I opened a new document and started over.

Subpoint: read! Read everything!

6. Share your draft with semi-honest friends.

Honesty is over-rated. My best friend, Stacey, is my go-to affirmer. I call her every time I have a “creative crisis,” and she is always excited to read my roughest chapters. Her unwavering enthusiasm keeps me going even when I doubt myself.

Find someone who will tell you to keep writing even when your chapters suck. Find a friend who is willing to blindly support you. Find a Stacey.

7. Join a writer’s group with real, live people.

No, online doesn’t count. My writer’s group taught me grammar, story structure, how to use dialogue tags (I abused those liberally). We celebrate each other in our success and encourage each other in failure. No excuses. Join one. If there isn’t one in your area, start one.

8. Find a mentor.

Rebecca Forster, is a USA Today best-selling author, friend of my aunt, and one of the most selfless humans I’ve interacted with. I’ve never met her in person, but she offered to read my first three chapters and query letter. Then she told me they both had serious problems. After that heart-breaking news, I bombarded that poor woman with a deluge of questions for weeks. God bless her.

9. Throw away your second draft.

Because your mentor said so.

10. Cry for a day (I told you the advice went downhill after #1).

Yep, feel your dream crumble, fall, and crush you because your beautiful brain baby isn’t as cute as you thought it was.

11. Get over yourself and rewrite.

Yes, all 70,000+ words.

12. Build a platform because agents and publishers want this.

No, I have no idea how to do this, so ask someone else for advice. But, definitely get advice.

13. Write and rewrite your query letter.

Take this seriously. Read articles written by agents about what they want to see in a query letter, then follow those rules to a tee. Share it with your writer’s group and/or mentor before you send it out.

14. Send the letter to 40 agents and publishers to start (40 more after 2-3 months).

I decided not to give up until I had been turned down or ignored by 100 agents and publishers. Thankfully, I was rejected by fewer than ten before Crimson Tree offered me a contract. This was only 13 days into my pursuit of a book deal (praise, God!). I’m still getting agent rejections in my inbox. Yes, even though I have a publishing contract it still stings. But, joke’s on them, right?

15. Cry tears of joy when you get a contract.

…even though it confuses your three-year-old.

16. Send your mentor See’s Candies as a thank-you.

Call everyone! Thank everyone who helped you! Especially because they aren’t even close to being done helping you.

17. Don’t overthink your next project.

Repeat step one. Write like no one is going to read it. It got you this far.