To be fair, it is my opinion that most people shouldn't write. The first piece I ever wrote was given a resounding 'F'. "This is awful," my creative writing teacher told me after reading my work. I was appalled. She went on to tell me why it was awful, and I've been practicing ever since (that was more than thirty years ago).

I've been writing seriously for seven years and in that span of time nearly everyone that talks to me about writing has said something like, "I have a book I should write." Wrong. I go back to my first sentence. I've found that most people who want to write a book don't know how. Paragraphs contain two or three or more people all talking at the same time. There is no 'flow' to the story. The reader doesn't understand the intent of the writing. The English is awful and the same descriptive word is used two or more times in a single sentence. The unblemished truth is, if you don't know the mechanics of writing you probably shouldn't write.

One good friend of mine, excited to have me read something he had composed, sent it to me handwritten on thin paper. I couldn't read the pencil scratches, and when I finally received something typewritten, it didn't make sense to me. The idea was a good one, don't get me wrong. But the implementation of the idea was horrible. I tried to dissuade my friend, but he was so determined to 'have it reviewed' that he paid money to an editor for his opinion. And that opinion was that the story would never be published in its present form and that my friend 'should start over'.

So what's the secret? The secret is really very simple. Your publisher (and your agent) must make money by publishing your novel. The average author, signing books for the first time at any given Barnes & Noble bookseller, only signs seven or eight books. One person I know only sold one book. The break-even for most publishers is numbered in the thousands of copies, not hundreds. So the secret is to write a book so interesting that thousands of people will not only purchase the book, but talk about it to their friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

One hundred and seventy five thousand books are published each year. (Over half of them are published by Print On Demand or POD self publishers who do not provide traditional or quality services such as professional editing or design or book distribution services). Not bad odds, though, right? Wrong again. Of those published, roughly half are non-fiction and half of all fiction books are romance. Did you know that of the last fifty best selling fiction books, forty-one were written by six authors? It is truly a rare event for a previously unpublished author to write a best seller. Yes, it does happen, but only infrequently.

The facts are that most Americans read less than one thousand books in their lifetime, and that includes textbooks. Less than six books a year are purchased by the average American. Most readers won't buy a previously unpublished author. Getting lucky in the writing business and selling a lot of books usually takes the right person reading the book at the right time. It doesn't happen often.

Of all new authors each year only one in fifty ever gets traditionally published. Many first-time authors who do get published take more than ten years to see their first book in print.

So what am I trying to say? I'm trying to make you understand just how challenging this is. But, if you want to write, go for it! Read everything you can in your chosen field. Read 'how to' books, not just on writing, but on finding an agent, writing query letters, approaching publishers, technique, and a thousand other topics. The number one caution I can give, I once read in a book. And that is: "You gotta have the want to".

As a young boy I always followed my father around on Saturdays like a puppy. Whatever he was doing, I was in the middle, doing my best to do just what my father did, just like my father did it. Then one day, he abruptly quit in the middle of building a fence and went inside the house. He got something to drink and sat in his recliner to watch television. I sat on the couch and wondered what he was doing. Soon he turned to me and asked, "You think you can do something outside for me?"

I was uncertain. After all I was only ten years old. "Yeah," I finally answered. Whereupon he told me to go outside and do something I was sure I couldn't possibly accomplish. I went anyway, tried, failed, then went back inside.

"Did you do it, son?" my father asked.

"No, sir," I replied. "I tried, but I just couldn't do it."

"No, you didn't try," he said. "Now if you really want to do it, go back outside and try again. You can do anything you want to do if you only seriously try."

Well, to make a very long story much shorter, I did accomplish the task that day after my father sent me back two more times. I was so proud. But what my little brain hadn't figured out was what my father was really teaching me that day. Ever afterward, I was certain that if I only tried I could do the most difficult of tasks. Maybe even the impossible.

I attribute that lesson to my eventually becoming a published author. I wrote scores of query letters and later, hundreds of emails. I sent material all over the world, even to Canada, England, and Australia, trying to find someone to interest in my work. The most abrupt reply, I shall not forget. The last line of my letter was, "May I interest you in my work?" The one liner response was simply, "No you can't!"

I didn't give up and if you want to be a published author you'll have to do the same. Stay with it. Take every comment about your work you can get. I always told people that read my work that I wanted their honest opinion, no matter how bad it was. I intended to use those comments to make my material better. I hated the comment, "I thought it was wonderful." First of all, they probably didn't think so, but were only trying to encourage me. I love hard comments about style, story, and characters. I soak them up like a sponge.

It's hard to do but you must find people who like to read who will give you an honest appraisal of your work. Family may not be the right kind of readers. You may want to ask friends, coworkers, church members, or neighbors for their help. Bottom line is that you need input, yes, even negative input. So, if you're the type of person who can't take constructive criticism, quit now and try something else.

One of the tricks I used when I handed out my manuscripts was to formulate what response I was looking for in the reader. I made notes of the responses I expected at key points within the story. After someone had read the manuscript, I would patiently take their comments and then ask for their emotions or thoughts at those key points. If I didn't get the response or thoughts I was looking for, I knew that I had failed in my purpose and I would rewrite as often as it took to obtain the right response. Sounds tough doesn't it? Well, believe me, it is tough.

Writing takes commitment. I promised myself and my family that until I was writing full time I wouldn't let my writing interfere with my quality time. I get up at three thirty in the morning. I write between one and two hours, then go to work. I almost never write at night after work. I spend my 'spare' time with my family.

We're almost done. Lastly, don't write about yourself. Unless you've been a prisoner of war, a CEO bringing a company through perilous times, or in some other situation interesting to the general public, no one will care about your life. Sure, it was interesting to you, but probably not to many others. Do write about something that you know, however. If you know terrorism inside and out, wrap a good plot around a few good characters and tell us all about it. If your story needs street names, don't write about a city you don't know like the back of your hand. And if your story line about something you know requires outside knowledge, talk to as many experts as you can so that you get it right. Do the research.

Above all, don't ever give up on your quest. The road ahead is crooked, perilous, and maybe even precarious. Walk it with tenacity and determination. At the end of that road, satisfaction awaits you.

By Max Woosley, author of "Holy War" found at http://www.pdbookstore.com

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