What I’ve done over the course of the fic I’ve written is write… read and revise… repeat… read OUT LOUD… consider it done. And yes, J.M.S. DOES over explain… constantly.

Have not heard of lulu.com, I shall check it out!

One is that you have an outline for the story to start with so that you know if the story is too vast or complex. Once you make the outline, decide if anything can go if it’s too long. It helps to decide if components of the story could be saved for a future follow-up book. The Harry Potter books suffer more and more with each new book because J.K. Rowling is throwing in the kitchen sink every time now. With her fame, she doesn’t have to scale back as she once did in the first few books. Often, less is more.

Along a similar line, write exactly the way you want to then re-read what you wrote and take out anything that is not necessary. Trim the sentences to the bone. New authors tend to repeat themselves or get way too detailed. Make sure every sentence is either fleshing out a character, advancing a storyline, or adding relevant detail. If it’s not really necessary, cut it. Too many writers fall in love with their own voice and keep a lot of chaff in their books and go overboard on details or commentary. Treat the reader like he or she can fill in reasonable gaps rather than prioritize making sure the point gets across in a precise fashion. J.M. Stracynski is guilty of beating people over the head (and boring them to tears) with overdoing it in this fashion.

Finally, getting published is really difficult because there are a lot of scam agencies which make you pay to publish and you have to have an agent to submit books to legit publishing places. However, you can always self-publish through Lulu.com.

Good luck!