How NaNoWriMo and Kindle Scout Turned One Writer into a Published Author

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. Of the over 75 titles readers have discovered through Kindle Scout, many have roots in NaNoWriMo. Learn how Kindle Scout helped author Jasmine Silvera go from plotting to published:

I’ve always said I’d move anywhere for love. When my husband’s job sent us from Seattle to the Czech Republic, I left behind a gig teaching yoga and the vibrant speculative fiction writing community I had been a part of for nearly a decade to embrace life in the magnificent city of Prague.

Prague is an enticing combination of the foreign and the familiar. Its superb architecture and complex history make it easy to find inspiration around every corner. But It wasn’t until I met another expat and writer that inspiration turned to story. Mystery writer Beth Green suggested we do NaNoWriMo together. For the first time, I imagined life in an alternate Prague full of magic. As the weather settled into the chill and dark of late fall, we met in coffee shops all over the city to plan our month of writing.

I’d always been a writer, but aside from a short story or two, publication had been out of reach. Fearing plotting would kill my creative process, I was a die-hard pantser. I’d taken part in NaNoWriMo several years in a row and won with ease. But those attempts ended in messy, unfinishable books. I decided with only 30 days “to lose,” I’d plot the entire novel before writing a scene.

I started NaNoWriMo that year, not just writing the story, but also spending time with my characters, learning their motivations and fears. Location research amounted to long walks around the city and tours of historic sites. It took longer than I expected. By end of the first week of NaNoWriMo, I had the outline for a complete novel: 27 chapters including scene ideas.

I was also way behind on my word count. I feared that the plotting experiment would cost me my win that year. Beth and I met several times a week, and I often squeezed in a few more hours each night at home. When I got stuck, I had my outline for reference. But increasingly, writing felt magical: by knowing where my characters needed to be from chapter to chapter, bridging the gaps was effortless.

“The risk I took to plot during NaNoWriMo showed me that sometimes doing something familiar in a new way pays off.“

Though I didn’t beat my personal best NaNoWriMo word count (104k words is a tough bar!) I had something even better: a complete novel. The 30-day limit empowered me to take a chance with a new writing strategy. That gamble paid off.

I spent a year revising Death’s Dancer, working with an editor and beta readers to get it right. When a friend sent me a link to Kindle Scout, I had my doubts: no one I knew had ever done anything like it. But after researching the program, I found the process of "reader-powered publishing” intriguing.

After submitting the book through the Kindle Scout website, there’s a brief review period (usually just a day or two), to make sure the book meets some basic requirements. Readers then have 30 days to vote on an excerpt of the book, and an editorial review factors into the final decision to offer a publishing contract. I would have a decision in 45 days. Compared to industry stories of querying agents and editors for months or years, Kindle Scout would give me quick feedback and allow me to reach potential readers.

It’s a new way of publishing. The risk I took to plot during NaNoWriMo showed me that sometimes doing something familiar in a new way pays off.

The Kindle Scout campaign for Death’s Dancer ran in the summer of 2016 and it was selected for publication. My favorite part of being an author is hearing from readers: finding out their favorite character, and moments in the story that moved them.

Thanks to NaNoWriMo and Kindle Scout, I have the best souvenir from my time in the Czech Republic: the start of a writing career.

Jasmine Silvera followed her love of writing to Seattle, where she now lives with her family after 2 years abroad. She enjoys practicing yoga, photography, and relearning to dance. Death’s Dancer is her first novel. The sequel Dancer’s Flame is forthcoming in early 2018. She is @jassilvera on social media, and posts upcoming release news at www.jasminesilvera.com