Independent author
Last weekend, I patted my next novel “Separation” on the butt and sent it out into a little slice of the world, letting my beta readers explore the town of Alessandra and its various characters. Hopefully, they’ll enjoy the read, and won’t ultimately tell me to toss my computer in a fire and start over from the beginning. [Read more…] about How to Write a Beta Reader Checklist
I’ve talked on here about beta readers before, but the topic is rattling around my head again — and not only because my next novel should head off to that stage by this weekend. Last week, I ran across this article on SelfPublishingAdvice.org by author Michael La Ronn. It’s titled “Writing: How to Find Beta Readers,” but it’s really all about how to find beta readers on Goodreads. [Read more…] about How do you find beta readers? (Hint: Not on Goodreads)
I have a confession to make … for much of the time I was writing my next novel, I was a bad writer. That’s not to say not to say I was writing a bad story (though I haven’t read the thing, so I wouldn’t put it past me), but that I was doing a bad job at the physical act of writing. [Read more…] about Why I Write Every Day (And Why It Matters)
Not much of this whole “writing a book” thing is easy. That’s particularly true if you’re looking to get it published. And sell the damn thing. And even more so if nobody knows who the hell you are, except for your mom, and even she’s not sure all the time. Talk about a mountain to climb, from the first tiny, uncertain steps of just coming up with the kernel of an idea to outlining, storyboarding, deciding on a structure, figuring out who the characters are, writing the first chapter, driving through the parts you think suck, finally finishing a draft, then realizing your work has only barely begun. The hardest part is tough to nail down.
There are plenty of points at which your average person drops out of this particular climb. Lots of opportunities to say “Screw this” and turn on Netflix. I have no doubt that the vast majority of people who talk about writing a novel never start, just as the vast majority of people who start a novel never finish, and most of those who finish a novel don’t sell enough to even make up for their costs, much less make anything approaching a “living.” [Read more…] about What’s the Hardest Part of Writing a Novel?
Last week, I finally finished the chief revisions on “Killing the Immortals,” nearly four months after I wrote the last words of the rough draft. I have no idea if “Six weeks to write and four months for editing” will be a common occurrence for me (It is my first book, so my experience level is a tad low), but that’s how this one went. So, here we are now, getting near the end, and I’m sort of in reflecting mode on how it’s all gone.
I’ve learned a lot during the past four months about my own writing (I use the word “just” way too damn much) and what’s effective for me when it comes to evaluating what I wrote. It’s not easy to step back from a personal project of this sort of length (88K words), that you put so much work into, and evaluate it fairly, in a way that allows you to actually see the warts, recognize them, root them out, and smash them into a million pieces.
Here are the three biggest lessons I’ve taken away from going through the four-month editing gauntlet with this book: [Read more…] about 3 Lessons From Editing My First Novel
Editing your novel is a pain, if you do it right. It just is. If you want to take your novel that next step to being a great book, there’s no real option but to pour your blood, sweat and tears into the editing process. It’s unlikely you can get away with much less.
Case in point: me. It took me six weeks from typing the first word to typing the last word of the first draft of my first novel. I finished it at the end of January. That means the editing process has now taken me almost three months, and the end is not especially near. My ballpark estimate is that it’ll be published sometime in July, but that’s a guess. It could be a bit later or sooner.
That is to say, it’s been three months, and it could easily be three more. Or even a bit more than that. The editing process could take me 5-6 times as long as the writing process did … and that’s not even unusual or a particularly long time for editing. Some people tinker with the damn thing for years.
So, let’s say you’ve gotten your draft back from your editor. It’s covered in red ink or comments on Track Changes. Maybe you also have a document with a summary of the editor’s thoughts. The edits number in the hundreds. It can seem overwhelming. How do you tackle all of this work? Here are four steps you can take to break it into pieces, and use it as a road map to go from a good story to a great book: [Read more…] about Editing Your Novel in 4 Steps