"You Can Get Published"; Gives A Good Start to New Writers

You Can Get Published by Peggy Teeters is an excellent introduction for beginning writers. If you have yet to be published, this small book will provide you with an overview of today's publishing world.

You'll learn about different types of writing, from short filler pieces to books and weekly columns. Teeter takes you through the steps from idea to published piece, and provides assignments to help you experiment with each form.

Peggy Teeters has excellent credentials for a book of this kind. As a former army wife who used her experiences to create articles, children's stories, columns, books and television scripts, she has a breadth of experience that qualifies her for a survey book like this. Her recent publications include a biography of Jules Verne for young adults, a novel for teenage girls featuring West Point, and numerous articles and at least two weekly columns.

The chapter titles will give you a clue to the variety of topics she covers:

1. Don't Wait to Communicate
2. Stop! Look! Listen!
3. Tools of the Trade
4. Try a Filler First
5. Now Try a Personal Experience Article
6. How About a Research Article
7. The Juvenile Scene: Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry
8. Fun With Fiction for Adults
9. Of Course You can Write a Column!
10. It Could Fill a Book
11. Are You on Target With Your Market?
12. Sending Your Manuscript
13. Senior Scribes

The chapter on fillers is probably one of the best. It provides a good look at the variety of fillers being published today, from Reader's Digest witticisms to puzzles, light humor to trivia and holiday customs. Quotes and examples add some meat to the chapter, expanding your idea of what makes a good filler.

The chapter on writing a research-based article was also well done. What makes Teeters' treatment different is her list of intriguing subjects to research. Some of them have been covered by other writers in the past, but many are mysteries that still haven't been solved. For instance: "Did you know that there is a phantom ship that sails the Hudson River? Is it the Flying Dutchman finding a port at last, Henry Hudson's Half Moon looking for its captain, or Captain Kidd coming back for his treasures?"

Teeters also provides examples and help for writing query letters, formatting manuscripts for submission, and targeting the right markets. Because this is a short (120 page-) book, no topic is covered in any depth. What you get is a guided scenic tour through the world of writing.

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