Self Publishing. Time.

Self Publishing

Spending Time Writing

 

          This is an elaboration on #2 from my Writing Advice post.

 

            When you decide to write a book it is important to plan on taking a good amount of time to do so.  The more time you spend on your idea, the better your ideas become.

 

            The way I did it was to take ideas that I had been thinking about for years, then think of where to start the story.  After that, I took some time to plan out how the story was to unfold.  I found that I did this well by Using a large drawing pad (large paper) and different colored pens.  Each storyline/character received a certain color and I did a rough colorful outline, alternating blue, red, green, orange, brown…  If you do this, make sure to leave room by each section just in case you think of more stuff to put in…you almost certainly will.

 

            Once you have the ideas and the outline, then you can start writing.  You may be surprised, but writing actually takes a long time.  On a good day I think I finished about ten pages.  On a bad day…week…it took me a few days to think of the next page.  Don’t try to rush things, because the slower you go the more ideas you’ll think up.  I found that I would often think of great ideas for the chapter I was writing, right when I was about to go to sleep.  Other times ideas came to me was when I was showering, or walking.  It’s good to find a time when you can think of new ideas, and then to take some time each day to think.

 

            After you have finished your story, then you should take some time editing each page.  I found it good to read the book out loud, because I was able to catch a lot of my own mistakes.  Some of my reviewers say I didn’t edit and just rushed it, but that’s not true.  I spent a long time editing my book.  I actually edited it three or four times.  I think one of my problems was that I didn’t realize how difficult it was to edit my own book.  If I did it again, I probably would have more actively sought out outside help.  I had asked some people to read it, but hadn’t heard back and I was impatient.  If you don’t have anyone to read it, then you might want to hire an editor or join a writer’s group and get advice.  Just be careful doing so, many people have written ebooks and earned money and, with money always comes people looking to scam you.  Before you pay anyone or give you book over to anyone, do some thorough research into that person/organization.  A good way to do so is to use google.  Type *** reviews, *** scams, is *** good, etc. 

 

            Now, there are a few more things you can spend time doing at this point. 

1.  You can spend time looking for an agent.  I’ve heard they are really helpful but, if you’re a first time writer like me, they can be very difficult to find.  I spent a lot of time doing research and writing emails designed to different agents’ attention.  After a couple of weeks of this I got bored of trying to write things to make people happy and decided to self-publish.
2. You can find a publisher.  Though, this might be hard to do, most, if not all reputable publishers don’t take unsolicited publications.

 

If you self publish, make sure to spend some time getting your book into the proper format and designing a cover.  For my cover I did my own artwork and my wife did the photoshop magic.  You might want to hire someone to do something up for you if you’re new to everything.

 

Overall, planning to take a good amount of time writing is important.  I recommend a year or more if it’s your first time.  The major steps will be planning, writing and then editing, but there’s a whole bunch of little things that pop up and, if you’re in a rush, all the little things will probably drive you crazy. 

 

If you find yourself going crazy then take some time to breath.