15 steps to being a published writer

This journey is different for each writer, some have it smooth and complete a book in 45 days (seriously no kidding check Nora Roberts ) others like yours truly takes close to two years to get the damn thing out. But what all writers swear by is - writing the first draft. Step 1: Write. Whatever idea you have swirling in your mind, put it down on paper. Doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, doesn’t matter if the language is not crisp. Just keep ploughing through till you have the first draft ready. It is called the first shitty draft for a reason. Step 2: Go back to the drawing board, create character outlines, draw each character out. Who are they? What do they like? What makes them happy? What makes them sad? How would they react in situations? What makes their world go around? Get into their head, get under their skin! Step 3: Relook at the first draft with the newfound confidence on your characters. You’d be able to see the conflicts straight away. Go through each chapter, see how the characters behave and look for opportunities where you can show their traits instead of just telling about it to readers. For e.g. She rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers. That gets the reader to imagine the protagonist being impatient. Creates a visual for them and they feel close to the character Step 4: Carefully construct the timeline, nerd that I am I made an excel sheet with important occurrences in each character’s lives this help plug any loopholes. These are important especially if your story spans a few years. Make sure it’s consistent across all of them Step 5: Time to get groovy with draft 3, look at the timeline. Each scene and each chapter should move the story forward if it doesn’t then maybe it is not required. We call it ‘Kill your darlings’ in the writing world. You might have a scene which is written well, is powerful but doesn’t say anything new about your protagonist. Well, kill it! Every paragraph should move your story forward. Step 6: Beta reading! Find people who read the genre, who can give you feedback? Who’d be honest about it and help you make it better? Step 7: Ambience, scenery, visualisation. Can the reader imagine the carnival your protagonist went to? can the reader feel the fear as they walk through dark alleyways? Did their heart break looking at lifeless trees? It’s a good idea to create a vivid picture for your reader, draft 4 should beef up the imagination. Step 8: Plug in the Beta suggestions, is there a way to make the villain more evil? Is the end predictable? Are the characters not likable enough? Step 9: Second Last draft before sending it to the publishers, relook at the plot. Are their plot holes? Has anything not been closed well? Are there any scenes that can be written better? Often in the excitement to nail a scene, I use the word ‘like’ a lot. Hair was dark like a raven, his face lost colour ‘like’ a sheet of paper. Are there any such words that you tend to repeat? Another example is emotions - He ‘felt’ sad. Do not tell the reader what the character is feeling, it should come out of the story – ‘Getting up in the morning was an effort for him’ Step 10: Take a break. Read something new, even better write something new. Have another idea? Now is a good time to start pounding that shitty draft. Write articles, blogs, long-drawn social media posts, anything but the manuscript Step 11: Go back to your manuscript, re-read. Check the grammar, punctuations, cross your t's and dot your i's. Look at it from the reader's eyes, would you be excited to pick it up? Don’t worry, the urge to rewrite some portions are perfectly normal, but if the changes are cosmetic and not critical then it’s time to put some feelers out. Step 12: Find a good editor or proofreader who can correct any language or grammatical errors in the book. A good book goes a long way in being accepted. Step 13: Contact the publishers, a google search will show results of the ones that are in your radar or that give new authors a chance. Another option to look at is to create an amazon KDP login and self-publish your book. Step 14: Only valid if you enlisted a publishing house. It takes anywhere between 1- 3 months for them to get back to you with a publishing date if your book is accepted. Then there are plot edits that their editors suggest. That could involve anything from rewording a scene to changing crucial plot points. You’d had worked on the draft some more in the interim. Step 15: Pray/ talk to the universe/ whatever it is you do to make it a success :-)