Write Now! is a powerful little book about writing, getting published and selling your book. It’s about the urge to write, writing mentors, writer’s block, when to start to write and what to write.

If you’re a writer or have an interest in writing, Write Now! will lead you into the writer’s life–to the life of rejection, questioning your writing abilities, wondering if you’ll ever get published and what to do when no one comes to your book reading. This book is not only the story of the making of a writer, it’s a book that will make you want to write.

Excerpt from the chapter “Writing Advice”

When my son Ray was 12-years-old, he asked me one day, “Dad, what do I have to do to be a writer?”

I thought for a moment before answering, then said,  “You have to stick to writing for as long as you can. Never give up. The longer you stay with writing the more chances you’ll have of getting published.”

“Why do you write?” he asked me.

“Because I have to. There’s something pushing me, driving me, telling me to write. To be honest, writing is like being addicted to a drug: once you start doing it, it’s hard to stop. I also write because no one in the whole world writes like me. Just think, no one in the history of the world has ever written like you or me, nor will anyone in the future ever write like you or me.”

“How do you know when you’re finished writing something?”

“When you’re completely satisfied with your work. It might take one, two, ten, maybe thirty or forty drafts before that happens.”

“What’s a draft?”

“The different times you work on or go over a piece.”

“Is there more advice you can give me?”

“Yes. Make your writing interesting.  Make it so the reader will want to keep reading. Make your writing stand out like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building or the Washington Monument.”

“Sometimes I feel like writing but I don’t know what to write. Do you ever feel that way?”

“I feel that way a lot. When that happens, I just sit down and write as fast as I can without stopping. I might do it for five or ten minutes or even a couple of hours. By writing swiftly, ignoring the editor, teacher or father looking over your shoulder telling you to make sense out of what your writing, something will eventually loosen itself from your subconscious and rise to the top. When that happens, your whole being will shout, Now I know what I want to write!

“That same nonstop technique can be used even if you know what you want to write. It gets everything out of your system. Your words and sentences might be awkward and jumbled the first time you write something, but that’s why you’re a writer—writers can always revise.

“One more thing, son.  When you’re finished with your poem, essay, story or whatever, don’t just let it sit, take some initiative by putting it in an envelope and sending it to a magazine or agent or publisher. If you believe in yourself, then someday your writing will get into print.”

“Thanks for the advice, Dad.”

“You’re absolutely welcome, Ray.”

Little did my son know that my advice was meant more for me than him.