I’m in a new stage as a writer.
I haven’t written about this in a while, so I figured it would be important to do.
In November of last year, I wrote a book. I actually ended up writing two books because of the decision i made to split them at the end. However, the pain point I’m at now is making that transition. The transition that I believe holds up a lot of writers, and one that I’m struggling with.
How do I transition from being an artist that gets his thoughts on a page to an author that gets his words into a reader’s mind?
Shawn Coyne from the StoryGrid Podcast says that every writer wants their work to be read. If they didn’t, they’d keep a journal and not tell anyone about it. I would have to agree. I have always written, but this was the first time I’ve written with the intention of getting published and getting moving.
So it’s my goal, by the end of this year, to produce the best final product of a book that I can in my own strength.
Here’s the rub: I don’t know how to produce it. I have conscious incompetence. I know that we are living in an age where technology affords me to hit publish on my computer and produce my first novel in 30 minutes. But I feel like I’m missing some in-between steps. Maybe it’s a confidence thing.
Maybe I’m rambling.
At any rate, here are the things that I’m doing in my next phase of the novel.
1) I’m hiring a developmental editor. I’m at the place right now where I’ve invested so much of myself into this, that I must invest some money as well. I know that someone that has done this before is going to make me aware of some elementary things that I’m doing that I simply can’t see. The problem is the price range for editors (even through professional sites like Reedsy) vary between a couple hundred dollars and several thousand! It’s a difficult decision to make.
2) I’m going to have a round of Beta Readers. I have a working list of people who read a lot. I am not picking people because they like me. Heck, I’d have the whole world as beta readers if that was the main criteria (kidding kidding). But I want people that enjoy reading and get the feels from a good story. I want them to tell me why my story does or doesn’t give them said feels.
3) I’m going to work on all the auxiliary stuff. I don’t have an author website. I don’t have a cover designer. I don’t have ISBN’s. I’m not even sure how to do a pre-order. I have to work on the business of being an author (that’s a new book by Jane Friedman, by the way) as well as the craft. I know less about this administrative stuff than I do about editing.
4) I really am going to pray for a mentor. Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy. I’m looking for that older wiser author that has been through the rigors of fiction-writing that puts his arm around me and says, “I’m going to walk you down the road that I should have taken when I was your age.” Except, it will probably be someone who is younger than me who has a little more hustle and a lot more wisdom. He probably won’t put his arm around me, and we’ll probably just Skype.
Regardless, I want this person and I am hoping they show up.
That’s it. That’s what I’m doing to move from the writing phase to the publication phase. I hope you stick with me.