Robert Heinlein outlined Heinlein’s Rules for writers in 1947 and published them in Of Worlds Beyond: The Science of Science Fiction Writing, A Symposium. The rules appear simple.
- You must write
- You must finish what you start
- You must refrain from rewriting except to editorial order
- You must put it on the market
- You must keep it on the market until sold.
Rules 1,2,4, and 5 are self explanatory. Rule 3 seems to trip writers up, including me when I first started writing.
I’m sure everyone is aware there are different ways people write. Some writers are heavy plotters, some writers write by the seat of their pants, and some writers follow a hybrid method.
In all cases, professional writers or those seeking to become professional writers edit their work, which sometimes means rewriting. The trick is knowing when your story is good enough to send to market. Constant striving for perfection prevents publication, as perfect stories don’t exist.
Rejection is a fact of life when sending stories to a market. An editor may have several reasons for rejecting a story, and the reason may have nothing to do with the story. For example: An editor might already have five dragon stories planned for publication, so they reject your dragon story because they already have too many dragon stories.
When I first started sending my stories to markets, I also studied the craft of writing. In the early days, when a market rejected a story, I could see problems with the story because I had learned new skills. I used to believe I could fix the story, rewrite it and find a buyer for the story. Cha-Ching! I now believe this is a bad idea and a waste of time.You will learn more by writing a fresh story and applying the latest learned craft skills.
Two exceptions. If an editor provides personalized feedback and I can understand what the editor is telling me, I will make changes and send the story out again to a new market. Editors are busy, so if they take the time to give you feedback, then your story is close to ready for publication.
If an editor points out a few issues with my story and offers to purchase the story, I’ll consider the ask and either make changes or not.
The key to rule #3 is editorial order. Without editorial order (or advice) just send the story to the next market. Recently, Wulf Moon sold a short story he had on the market for ten years!
People keep asking me how I study writing craft. I have a comprehensive library of writing craft books. I study the writing of top writers, which means I read constantly, and I attend training with some top authors. The training can shorten the time to learn craft, if you put in the work.
Two places I recommend for training is: Wulf Moon’s Wulf Pack Writers Group and I also recommend the classes from Dean Wesley Smith.
If you want to level up your writing craft, Wulf and Dean can help. You, as a new writer, must put in the work.
Terry Ebaugh 
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