So I (Luke) recently attended the Perth Writer’s Festival. Four days of authors, editors and publishers sharing their knowledge with the public. The first day I found especially interesting because it was based solely on publishing—self vs traditional—and at the end of the seminar ten people were chosen to pitch their book to the publishers directly. I was lucky enough to be picked out of the hat!

But rather than delve into my 3 minutes in the spotlight, I thought I’d share some of the guest speakers’ wisdom that confirmed and added to what Garrett and I have picked up over the past years.

Read. Read. Read: First and foremost. The more you read, the more you expand your knowledge of writing. It’s as simple as that.

Write what YOU want to read: It’s the best way to stay motivated and dedicated to your story.

Enter contests: Be it a shortlisting or first place, there’s nothing better on your writer’s résumé.

Every manuscript can be cut by 10%: Removing overused and unnecessary adverbs is the big one here.

12-18 months: The average wait after being picked up by a publisher before you’ll see your book on the shelf.

2500-3000: How many copies of your book must sell for the publishers to break even.

The best tags for your book: Tags not only help people find your book, they determine where your book is represented. Correct ‘tagging’ can really help your book gain traction.

Agents are harder to find than publishers: This comment was Australia based, but it’s a worldwide issue. There's also a lot of dodgy ones out there.

Send it all: Even if the publisher’s policy says different, you won’t be knocked back because you gave them a slightly larger word doc. A lot of new writers don’t find their “flow” until the latter half of their book, so if your ending is stronger than your beginning, at least the publisher has the option to read both.

Write another one: There’s no better PR for a new author, especially self-published, than a second book. Your first may be amazing, but you’ll need more than that to build trust with your readers.

There was plenty more that I took notes on but I felt this was a decent spread of answers to issues and queries that we had along our journey to publication. I hope these ten tips help!