Pattimari asked April Voytko Kempler:

How long did it take you to write your book April. Pattimari

April Voytko Kempler This is not as as simple an answer as one might expect. I began interviewing Joseph Kempler in the summer of 2007. I recorded his words in two hour segments. I have approximately eighteen hours of recorded interviews, but I believe it was much more than that. After a while I stopped recording and jotted down his words in a notebook. I asked him repeatedly how to spell a Polish word, or name. It took a lot of time, and a lot of persistence. There were days Joseph didn't feel up to the interview, and sometimes neither did I. I received so much support from my husband in this endeavor, and if it weren't for him reminding me that I really needed to complete the interview I'm not sure if I would have finished. But, once I got the the whole story I set about transcribing Joseph's words. After that, I put the sequence of events in chronological order, and began to weave together a cohesive story. This took about two years. It might have taken less time had I worked on it every day from the beginning, but as I mentioned before, months would go by before I would turn my attention to it. However, if I wanted to see Joseph's story as a published book I had to hop to it! Somewhere along the line I realized I had to work on it every single day, sometimes for eight hours, but no less than four.

I had no idea how to find a publisher once the task was done, I also (blushing) didn't realize the amount of editing involved before submitting to a publisher. I made so many time-consuming mistakes along the way. I found a local publisher in the third year, and then I found an editor. This is backwards, so please don't follow my example. I do blog about some of my mistakes on the road to published book at www.renogalsays.wordpress.com if anyone is interested in checking that out. Needless to say, within four years I had a publishing contract in hand.

All that was left was the marketing, and this was another education.

I posted a blog about the amount of time my journey took, here is a link for anyone interested:

http://renogalsays.wordpress.com/2013...

I read that for a first time author the average time it takes to get published is five years. This can take less time, but often longer. I'm pleased that I was within that five year time frame.

I don't regret the amount of time it took, because I believe the finished product shows the care and attention to details. New writer's tend to rush to publication, and with all the amazing options out there to self-publish the task is too easy. But, I say, take your time because it makes a more enjoyable reading experience. Nothing is lost by taking the necessary time to make sure the text is flawless. In fact, a lot can be damaged by rushing to publication.

flag