What it takes to become an author

Unless you somehow missed it, I recently published my debut novel. For those who asked about how I didit, and as a sort of learning exercise, Irecently wrote an article for Lifehacker about what it takes to become an author. You can read it in full here:www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/12/the-complete-guide-to-writing-your-first-novel/

While the article contains a lot of information, about what I learned and the best ways to do things, the essence is simple:

Perseverance.

Writing a novel is (mostly...