Are You Ready To Write Your First Novel?
It is often said that everyone has at least one great novel, book, or story inside them. Writing a book is also something that is on a bucket list of things someone wants to do before they die. You might think that you don’t have the right mindset to write a novel, but you’d be surprised. A lot of people find that once they get started the words simply flow across the page.
Before we look at how to write your first novel, let’s explore why this could be a fantastic choice for you.
Why Should You Write A Novel?
Writing a novel is always going to take up a lot of your time so it’s worth considering why you should do this. The good news is that there are lots of benefits to writing your first novel. For instance, you could find that it’s a great way to deal with your thoughts and emotions. If you have a lot of thoughts in your head that you are ignoring, then it can be quite stressful. Writing a novel will help you deal with them far more effectively and ensure that they don’t cause you a lot of stress. Some people also find that writing a novel and escaping into a fantasy world is incredibly relaxing.
Of course, the main benefit of writing a novel is to make money. You shouldn’t start a novel purely with the idea of earning money, but it’s a side hustle that could be worth exploring. People often think that it’s going to be difficult making money publishing a novel and this isn’t quite true. It’s easier than ever to publish a novel. Rather than waiting for the support of a literary agent, you can choose to self-publish. Self-publishing will mean that you don’t have to deal with the issue of being rejected.
Getting Inspiration
Now that you understand some of the clear benefits of writing a novel, you should think about how you can get inspiration for your first novel. If you speak to authors, they will tell you that you should be reading plenty of novels. For instance, you might be thinking about writing a fantasy novel. If so, then you should look at various good fantasy books to make sure you understand exactly the type of novels that readers like. As well as providing you with inspiration, this is also a great way to ensure that you don’t copy or imitate ideas that authors have already put on the page.
When you are reading different novels, it could be worth writing some notes. The benefit of writing notes is that you will know what you have read and you won’t accidentally copy ideas when it comes to putting your own to the page. This can happen if you are not careful here.
Another way to get inspiration is by thinking about the novels that were interesting to you when you were younger. It’s possible that you can reinvent and bring new life to some older ideas.
Decide On A Plan
It’s also important to make sure that you are deciding on a plan when you are writing your novel. For instance, you might want to think about laying out the different chapters and sections. This is a smart choice if you are prone to writing yourself into a corner and struggling to reach compelling conclusions. When you are writing a plan, you should make sure that each planned chapter has a point. If there is a chapter that seems to go off on a tangent then you can think about removing this from your plan.
You might be under the assumption that a great chapter needs to be hundreds and thousands of words. But this is not the case. If you keep your novel short and sweet then you are more likely to have a page-turner on your time. Pageturners are always going to be popular with audiences and readers because they – as the name suggests – keep them turning the page.
If you are not sure how to write compelling stories, then you should think about taking a class. Writing is at least partially a talent but you can learn how to write great stories by signing up for a course. Some of these can be explored online and are run by successful teachers.
Publication Choices
Finally, you should think about how you are going to publish your novel once it’s finished. As mentioned, you can think about speaking to a literary agent or self-publishing. A lot of people believe that you can speak directly with a publisher. However, the reality is that most publishers will not accept unsolicited manuscripts. As such, you need to make sure that you do think about getting the support of a literary agent to rep you instead.
The likelihood is that you will be rejected the first few times that you send your book to a literary agent. However, the general rule of thumb is that there isn’t anything wrong with your novel unless it has been rejected more than ten times. If this is the case, then you might want to think about reworking the novel and correcting some of the issues.
Be aware that if you are struggling to get the right attention, self-publishing can still be a great option. You just need to explore the resources that will work for you such as Amazon.
We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you need to take to ensure that you are ready to write your first novel. Remember, you can approach this as a hobby or as a business venture. Regardless, it could provide some fantastic benefits. You might find that this is the start of a brilliant new career or a way to deal with your various emotions and feelings. The hardest part will be figuring out what you want to write about and completing that first page. Once you have done this, you will be well on your way to completing your first full novel.
