Don't wait until you get 'the call' to start building your career as a published author.   Start preparing now, and you'll be way ahead of the pack in your journey to success.  Begin now with the following ten practices and when it comes time to sign your first contract, you'll be thinking, and acting like a pro.

1. Write.  This one seems obvious, but it can't be stressed enough.  Write, not just books, but letters, short stories and articles.  Experiment with different styles and voices to find your strengths and to develop your weaknesses.  The very best way to become a better writer is by putting words on paper day in and day out, like a pianist playing every day or a dancer going over and over her steps.

2. Read.  Another obvious one, and yet I still meet aspiring writers who read very little.  Read in your genre, to see what editors are buying, what works for you as a reader, and what doesn't work.  Read outside your genre to get new ideas.  Read nonfiction and how‑to and research books.  Learn to recognize good writing and to identify what makes it good.

3. Study your craft.  The best writers never stop learning.  That's why veteran published authors still sit in on workshops at conferences.  We can always improve.  So sign up for a class or workshop, take a course or read a how‑to book.

4. Network.  Join a writer's group.  Find a critique group.  Sign up for a writer's listserve on‑line.  Meet other writers.  Learn from them and benefit from their support.  When the rejections come, you'll have a group of sympathetic friends who'll understand what you're going through better than your family ever could.  And when the time comes for you to share the good news of your first sale, you'll have a ready‑made audience cheering you on.

5. Learn the writing business.  If there's anything that takes new authors by surprise, it's the ins and outs of the writing business.  Start studying now to find out what you need to know about contracts, agents, how books are distributed and sold, etc.  Subscribe to a professional journal and read the articles about the writing business.  Read online articles.  Attend conferences.  Meet your local bookstore owners now.  Let them know you're an aspiring author.  Ask them about the publishers or distributors.   During the two years prior to my first sale, I started collecting articles about the business of writing.  Some of the things in my folder were: articles about negotiating publishing contracts, profiles of romance‑friendly bookstores, articles about putting together a press kit,  a listing of on‑line writing communities, articles about working with an agent, and self‑promotion ideas from successful published authors.  After I sold, that notebook became my reference guide and life saver.  I didn't have to learn everything from scratch because I had all this advice from experts to guide me.

6. Pay attention to the market.  Sometimes selling is a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  When a publisher establishes a new line, that's when they're hungriest for manuscripts.  Send yours in right away and you could end up with a sale.  Likewise, from time to time word goes out that a publisher has a shortage of manuscripts in a particular area.  If you're writing a romantic suspense and you hear that Publisher A is looking for romantic suspense, you have a great opportunity to catch an editor's eye by giving her what she needs.  How do you find out this market information?  A lot of it gets distributed online, through writing newsletters and in writing magazines.  Pay attention and you could be one of the first to hear about a new line opening, an editorial change, or even a publisher over‑inventoried in a particular area.

7. Attend conferences.  Whether regional or national, conferences are your chance to meet face to face with editors, agents, booksellers and distributors.  They're also a great place to meet readers and other aspiring and published writers.  At a conference, you can ask questions, hear the latest news and gossip, attend workshops to sharpen your skills and learn more about the business,  and come away inspired and revved‑up to get back to work.

8. Volunteer.  Volunteer with a local writing organization.  Help with a literacy fund‑raiser or a writer's conference..  Shelve books at the local library or bookstore and see what's hot.  Volunteer to review romance for your local paper or an online site.  Volunteering will open a door to meeting interesting and even influential people who can teach you and help you in your career.  It's also a wonderful way to establish name recognition.  When your book comes out, people will say "Oh yeah, I know her!"

9. Submit your work.  Lana Turner may have been discovered having a soda at the corner drugstore, but no one's going to walk up and offer you a publishing contract out of the blue.  Sending your work out is scary, like sending your child off to kindergarten by himself.  What if they don't like him and a bully beats him up?  Rejection happens, but remember, a rejection is only one person's opinion.  Plenty of wonderful books got rejected two, three, even dozens of times, before they were published.  After you have a good cry and nurse your bruised feelings a few days, send your masterpiece back out.  This time you might find the editor or agent who absolutely loves it. Many people think they need an agent in order to get the attention of publishers.  While a good agent can help, almost all publishers will read a query letter from an unagented writer.  If the editor likes what she reads, she'll ask for more.  Many, many authors make their first sales without agents.  Don't let the lack of an agent keep you from submitting your work.

10. Think of yourself as a writer.   How others see us is often a reflection of how we see ourselves.  If you want other people to take you seriously as a writer, then you first have to take yourself seriously.  Establish a writing routine and stick to it, even if it's just an hour after the kids are in bed every evening, or Saturday mornings.  Introduce yourself to others as a writer.  Get business cards that list you as a writer.  Published or not, that's what you do.  Present yourself as a professional and before long, you will be one.