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What's something about the writing industry new writers should know?

I'm a Sophmore in high school who is very determined to get into the writing industry with an urban fiction novel I'm working on. I'm the type of person who likes to know everything I can about something before going forward so what are some things that I, as a new writer, should know about the industry?
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Margaret’s Answer

Hi Amaiya, I admire your determination. First and foremost, keep writing. Show your work to other writers. Keep reading, too. When your novel is finished, seek out a literary agent. (I don't know much about self-publishing, but that's an option, too.) The best way to find an agent is to find a book that's similar to yours or in the same genre, then look at the Acknowledgments page at the end of the book. Authors usually thank their literary agents. Then send your manuscript to that agency and wait. Determination and polite persistence are crucial. Good luck and keep writing!
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Fernando’s Answer

When going into the field you should keep in mind that most writers start of small before hitting their stride. There are a myriad of sites that will publish short stories, you can use these to build up a portfolio. Get aquatinted with the various types of writer unions, some have monthly membership cost that come with benefits; others are free and while they may not offer the same benefits as the paid ones, they do have a other utilities to help out writers starting out. Self-publishing is always an open alternative that's available to all writers, though get ready to do a lot of the extra work yourself such as marketing, editing, potential promotional art and etc. However, if you're self-publishing you can higher others to help out with other aspects that go into the publication, just be sure to balance out your budget or partner up with someone you trust that meets the criteria for the task.
If you're aspiring to be a script writer, sadly that is the hardest hill to climb. Not only are you gonna need an agent, since they're the ones that set up meetings and are tasked with selling your script, but the geographical change is going to be the hardest. Like an old professor of mine said "if you want to be a script writer you're gonna have to find a way to land in Los Angeles, since that's where the business is."

The field of writing has many paths to pick, so don't get discouraged if one doesn't click with you. There's also a large amount of writing curriculums that cover the various styles of writing. You have: prose, novel, short story, short film, script writing, tv script writing, film script, comic book, videogame writing, and these are just the ones of the top of my head. Take your time and look into them and pick the one you feel clicks the most with what you want to explore as a writer.
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Jo’s Answer

Hi Amaiya! Your commitment to writing a novel is awesome! I'll echo the advice of others on here, but keep reading and writing as much as you can. Always be open to sharing your work with others and accepting feedback, even if it takes your story in another direction. It can take some writers many years of working with a story or different agencies before you get picked up to be published. My other advice is that there are a lot of jobs out there for writers that don't involve being an author full time. When you get to college, continue to pursue your passion of writing and be open to new opportunities it may bring! Companies value employees that are good communicators and writers.
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