So You Want To Be A Writer - Part 2
10 Steps To Go FromFirst Draft To Publishable Novel
(See Part 1 here)
If you’ve been working on your novel and have it sitting at roughly80,000 to 100,000 words, good job. Pat yourself on the back and bask in themoment, but don’t go so far as celebrating, because as the man said, “We ain’tdone yet.”
See, what you are holding in your hand (or on your computer)is something probably no one but you will ever see (and trust me, when you’refinally done, you’ll be grateful for that). Given the choice, no writer wouldever want someone else to read their first draft. I know mine have almost asmany instructions and notes to myself in them as narrative. Fill this out more,find out what this means, add a little more padding to this scene…you get thepoint. The purpose of a first draft is to get the whole story down, from startto finish. Think of it as a skeleton, and the rewrites you’re going to do asadding lean meat to the bones. A book may take months (and for somepeople, years) to finish, and getting to the first draft is a very small partof that effort. The hard work comes after, and it’s the stuff that separatesthe wannabes from the real writers.
1. Stop Writing. Depending on how much of a controlfreak you are, this may or not be the easiest thing you=vedone yet. AWhat doyou mean, stop writing?@you ask. Simple. Close the file (or put away that giant stack of dead trees youcall a manuscript) and forget about it for a week or two. Take a vacation.Clean out the garage. Better yet, start another book. The point is, you=ve been living with this book forseveral weeks or months (or for some of you, years) and during that time it hasconsumed every last drop of your creative juices. You need time to recharge thebatteries and distance to gain perspective. You know that old saying, AYou can=tsee the forest for the trees?@Well, this is where it came from. (Okay, maybe that=snot entirely true, but itapplies.)
2. Rewriting, Round 1. If the Round 1 part ofthis title scares you, you=regoing to either need to get tougher or pack up and go home. Most books requireat least two, many times more rewrites. The most important job of this round isto fill in the blanks (all those little notes you made to yourself whilewriting), round out your research, eliminate the typos and grammar gremlins,and tighten the writing. Some scenes may require more detail, some may requireless, and some may need to be eliminated altogether. Remember, if it isn=t contributing to the resolution of thestory, it isn=tnecessary. It=s okay tothrow in the occasional red herring, but do that too much and what you see as astorytelling device becomes a reader=smotive for murder. (Quick word of advice here: Don=tpiss off your reader. It hurts future sales.)
WARNING: This round of rewrites can also become a trap,especially for new writers. You can get so mired in rewriting and researchingthat you burn out on the entire novel and never touch it again. So make thispass quick. Allot yourself a predetermined amount of time for completion (say aweek, or if you=re busyor work slowly, two) and stick to that schedule. Dragging it out for weeks oreven months isn=t goingto make the book any better.
3. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. Every writer has his or herown system for doing things, and as you become more experienced, you=ll develop yours as well. Today,however, is not that day. If you=rereading this, it=s becauseyou=re not there yet. So, take my advicefor what it=s worth,and step away from the book again. Believe it or not, even if you=re not actively working on it, yourlittle literary masterpiece-to-be is still happily percolating away on the backburner of your brain. There might be a scene you=renot happy with, or a plot hole you can=tfigure out how to fill. The fact is, at this point, you=veprobably got as many questions as you have answers and while banging your headagainst a keyboard might provide a warped brand of satisfaction, it probablywon=t do much more than give you a headachethat you can then blame on your writing, thus providing you with the excuse youneed to throw in the towel.
Think of it this way: You know those times when you=re having a conversation with a friendand something they say reminds you of a movie you saw a long time ago (or maybelast week), but you can=tfor the life of you remember the name of the movie? It=slike staring into a black hole. You know you know it, but that portion of yourinternal hard drive has just taken a vacation to the Bahamas and is unavailablefor access. Then sometime in the middle of the night, lo and behold, the harddrive comes back online and wakes you up with–you guessed it–the name of themovie you forgot. You sit up in bed and yell, AEureka!@ and curse the Gods of Internal HardDrives for their untimely interruption of your sleep, or something like that.
So what does this mean to you, the writer? Allow your noveltime to breathe, to smooth out the rough edges. Fiddling with it during thistime, changing this word or that, really isn=tgoing to speed the process. You never know; by waiting you might get struckwith an epiphany that turns your ho-hum first novel into a best seller.
4. Rewriting, Round 2. This time when you come backto your book, do yourself a favor. If you can, print it out. Reading it onpaper forces you to read without editing. Plus, once that read-through isfinished, it will be easier to take notes on paper. If you can=t print it out, convert it to PDF soyou=re forced to read it through frombeginning to end without stopping to edit.
The reason for a complete read-through is important for youto get a real sense of the overall book, something that isn=t possible when you work on it one partat a time. It is only by looking at it as a whole that you get a real sense ofthe plot, pacing, and what I call readability of the novel. You can take notesduring this read-through, but don=tlet it sidetrack you. You need this perspective. I often trick myself bypretending I=m astranger reading the book. You can use whatever works for you.
Once you=refinished, you can go back and begin to polish your little jewel with a greaterunderstanding of what it needs or could stand to lose. Be merciless–the changesyou make now will make your novel stronger for what=scoming next.
5. Beta Read. By now you=refeeling pretty confident about your book. You=veironed out all the obvious plot holes, tightened up the narrative, and cleanedup the typos and grammar problems.
Which means it is now time for a second opinion. If you=ve never had anyone else read your work(friends and family don=tcount because they=ll saythey love anything you write to spare your feelings, and that won=t do you or your future readers anygood), this can be a scary proposition. Unfortunately, you=re going to have to get over your fearor you=re nevergoing to be able to release your baby into the wild.
The choice of a beta reader is important. Good beta readersare worth their weight in gold to a writer, and having several is vital becauseyou=re going to want at least two differentbeta reads; one now and one just before release. Having several readers foreach ensures you get a good cross-section of feedback, but don=t use all of them the first timearound. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression, so thereader(s) who look at your book this time should not be the same one(s) wholook at it the final time. You can=tgive an accurate assessment of something when you already know what=s going to happen.
The most important qualification for a beta reader ishonesty. No matter how brutal it may seem, make sure your readers are willingto give you an impartial, no-holds-barred assessment of the book. And that=s where the next step comes into play.
6. Critique Etiquette. If you=regoing to be a professional writer, you have to learn to take criticismconstructively. Remember, your beta readers are critiquing this particularbook, not you personally or your overall ability to write. You can either sulkand get angry, or you can use their comments constructively to make your bookbetter so when you do release it, you=llknow it=s thebest book you could have written. If you=relooking for an ego-stroke, find another way to express yourself.
7. Apply What You=veLearned. Once you get all the comments from your beta readers, go throughthem objectively. You have to be able to take a step back at this point andlook at the book like any other work you do. If you were building a house andthe doors were crooked, you=dwant someone to point that out to you before you had prospective buyers come byto look at it, right? Same thing here. Take all their comments and compare themto each other and to your book. Some comments may be valid, and some you mayreject. But don=t rejectthe reason the comment was made, especially if more than one person makes it.Perhaps your readers don=tunderstand a particular point you=retrying to make in the book and suggest a way to clarify it. You may not agreewith their solution, but don=tdiscount the comment itself. Just because you know what you=re trying to say, doesn=t mean your readers will. Ifclarification is required, it=sbetter to address it now.
8. Editing. Remember that forest and trees comparisonwe made in Number 1? It=smore important than ever now. When you live with a book for so long, you beginto see it, not for what it is, but what you think it is. Mistakes thatwould be obvious in someone else=swork are completely invisible in your own. It=snot that you=re bad atediting, it=s justthat your brain sees what you want it to see.
You may or may not be good at editing. If you=re not, finding a good editor is evenmore important than a good beta reader. And there=sno such thing as a one-size-fits-all editor. Different writers need differentkinds of editors, and some may need more than one. You may be good at thegrammar and punctuation stuff, but blind to content and pacing. Or maybe you=re just the opposite. The point is,take your time to find an editor that fits your needs and develop arelationship with them. That way they learn your strengths and weaknesses andcan edit accordingly.
If you are good at editing, it=sstill wise to get a second pair of eyes on your book, if for no other reasonthan to make sure you don=tmiss something. If you can=tafford to pay an editor, try to work out some sort of reciprocal agreement.Maybe you know a writer who=sgood at content editing and you=regood at line editing. You could swap services, thus helping each other out andbuilding a report with a fellow writer.
9. Polish and Proof. We=regetting so close you can almost taste it now, but let=snot rush things. The time you spend on details now will reward you with abetter product later. After you incorporate your editor=sinputs, you need to once again put the book aside and let it rest. This time Iwould suggest giving it a couple of weeks. I know you=reanxious to set it free, but just be patient a little while longer. You mightwant to start lining up publication options, maybe finalizing your cover ideas orother details. You could also start talking up your book on social media,getting some pre-release buzz going.
Once you=vegotten some distance from the book, do another read through like you did inNumber 4. If you=ve doneyour job, there should be little if anything to change or correct. Make thosechanges, give it another polish, and prepare to send it out for its finalreview.
10. Final Beta Read. This is it. The final test. Whatyou give your beta readers to read this time should be 99% ready forpublication. I say 99% because finding a flaw or two is not the end of theworld. If they find nothing, congratulate yourself on a job well done. And ifyou run into the opposite scenario and your beta readers still uncoverproblems, don=t getdiscouraged. Remember, it=sbetter to learn about any problems now rather than after you publish and get aspate of bad reviews. Just remember to be patient and thank them for their timeand honesty. Every problem you catch now is one a paying customer won=t catch later.
And that=sit. Remember back in part 1 when I said writing was hard work? Well, now youknow exactly what I was talking about. But you got through it, and now you canfinally pop the cork on that champagne and have a little celebration. But justa little one.
See, your book is finished, but you’re not ready forpublication yet. If you’re going the traditional route, you’ll have to startputting together a synopsis and query letter to find an agent, and that’s awhole other process. Check Query Tracker for agents who specialize in your genre. If you do decide to go the traditionalroute, you may dispense with the expense of paying an editor to go through yourbook, since most publishing houses have their own internal editors, but youstill want to submit the best version of your book for consideration.
If you decide to go indie and publish yourself, you’ll need toformat your book. Read through my post on Formatting A Word Document for Publication on Amazon for some tips.
As far as the other aspects of self-publishing, you’ll needa cover–a professional cover is worth its weight in gold to give your book itsbest start in life. Covers don’t need to break the bank. You can get a goodcover on a budget by checking out some of the artists on Fiverr or a companylike Getcovers.com. And last but not least, you’ll need to write a blurb to useas your back cover copy and your book description on Amazon or wherever elseyou plan to sell it. Remember, A BLURB IS NOT A SUMMARY. It’s marketing copy,150 to 200 words, three short paragraphs of succinct, punchy, attention-gettingadvertisement. Think of it like a move trailer, just hitting the highlights. Ihighly recommend you check out FictionBlurbs, the Best Page Forward Way by Pheobe J. Ravencraft and Bryan Cohen. Greatstep-by-step advice for writing a blurb that will get your book the attention itdeserves.
Once you’ve accomplished all that, NOW you’re done.
If you would like a pdf copy of this post, please post a request in the comments section and I will be happy to send it to you.
