Bill’s Guide to Writing a Book
I have written six books and have three more in the outline stage, but my sales are dismal. So, you probably ask, “Why should I read your guide?” Good question. In my experience, looking at several sources when attempting to understand something is essential. Then, once you know what is going on, jump into the project. So, there could be value in my words because I have made many mistakes. Or this could be useless junk. This is a three-part blog; the next entries cover publishing and marketing.
So … You have never written a book and want to write one. Where to start? Before we get into writing, there are some crucial tasks.
1) Get a Goodreads account, an Amazon account, and an Amazon author’s account. Then, post reviews for every book you have read on both sites. Your goal will be two per day and at least 200 reviews. Important tip. Review only the books you liked. Why? Carma and getting into the mindset of being successful. In addition, this effort will prepare you for a critical task—the book blurb. Your goal will be to get into the mindset that people will read and comment on your work. Also, it would help if you got into the philosophy of creating something people want. And finally, get into the mindset about books getting excellent reviews.
2) Join Facebook/Twitter/popular online sites and write a short bio about yourself. If you already have an account, create a new page dedicated to your author’s activities. Post stuff about your writing, books, stories, and book-related interests. Important tip: Post only light-hearted stuff. If you like/hate famous person X, keep it to yourself. Many potential book buyers love X. Your goal will be to build hype. “Hey, just about to release my book.” “Wow! I will have to buy it!”
3) Join a writer’s forum like the Facebook group Writers Helping Writers. Important tip. Start by reading lots of posts before posting. I recommend at least two weeks. Then post as often as you can, even if it is just a “thumbs up” to somebody else’s comments. Another excellent post is, “That makes sense.” Your goal is to get yourself out there and gain writing tips.
4) READ A LOT. At least two hours a day. Try to read in the same area (like romance) you are thinking of publishing. This will improve your writing ability and develop style/ideas. It will also get you into the mindset you are writing for others. Read a variety of authors, including non-famous authors. Look for mistakes and think about how YOU would fix the problem.
5) Start a blog. I have one on Goodreads, Facebook, Tumblr, and Medium. Talk about how your writing is going, what books you enjoy, and what it means to be a writer. Keep it high level. No politics or other controversial topics unless it is your thing to offend people. If so, tread lightly.
6) Start thinking about marketing and do research in this area. This is a long, laborious, and expensive journey. “Writing a book is 99% self-marketing and 1% other.” -Me
7) Get a computer with Internet access and Microsoft Word. You can pick up an old copy of Microsoft Word (like 2016) for $30 on eBay. Do not use OpenOffice! Despite all the evil that Microsoft is, they make a great product. This choice avoids issues like, “It looks good on the screen, but when I print, the margins do not line up.” All professional writers use Microsoft Word, which is what editors, print/ebook formatters, and publishers expect. If you do not consider yourself a professional writer (or are at least trying to be one), you must ask yourself why you are undertaking this journey. Trust me, much hard work is ahead of you, and you need the right tools. In addition, you can find the answer when you have a Microsoft Word question. Worst case, you can pay a Microsoft expert. OpenOffice? Yeah, good luck finding out why the margins do not print correctly.
8) I strongly recommend paying for Grammarly and ProWritingAid. (Ensure you only use the Grammarly Word plug-in, not the Windows application.) These two programs will save you time, money, and nasty reviews. In addition, your blogs and book reviews should all pass through these programs.
9) BACK UP YOUR WORK EVERY DAY!! The number of times I read, “My computer got stolen, and I lost five years of work.” Get a memory stick, back up ONCE A WEEK, and put the stick in a fire-proof safe. NO EXCUSES! Install a virus checker and keep your computer updated.
Let’s begin the writing process.
First off, you have a BIG decision. Is this for fun or profit? If it is for fun, the pressure is off, and you can write anything you want without consequence. Who cares if you ever make a buck? Who cares about a grammar, plot, or character mistake? However, once you go down this path, there is no turning back because you will have a trail of shoddy work. On the other hand, if you want to write for profit and fail, you can change your goal to writing for fun.
Writing for profit means having a professional mindset and a serious attitude toward the best possible work. Also, you will need to spend big for an experienced editor, copy editor, cover designer, and formatter. Stop and ask yourself if you have it inside of you.
How much and how long will it take? At least a year and $8,000+ (per book). Yes, that is a lot of money. But if you are resourceful, you can find helpers, intelligent tips, and people you can beg, but there are no shortcuts.
Let’s say you use a shortcut like not having your work professionally edited. Trust me. Readers and critics will tear you apart no matter how hard you try or how good your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are (or the “grammar expert friend” you asked to check out your work). You will get 1-star reviews like, “A 5-year-old wrote this book.” A 1-star review is CRUSHING to an author. PAYING readers expect polished works. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing correctly.” -Some famous person.
What topic should you write about? Unfortunately, I cannot help in this area. Your story has to come from within you, and you need to be 150% passionate about it. This will be a long road, and you will waste your time if you do not have a deep passion.
Now that you have a concept write a paragraph. Go over this paragraph several times to polish it. Important tip. Keep this paragraph; you will need it later.
In the next step, show your paragraph to people and ask them what they think. If people seem apprehensive or take a long time pondering the concept, start over. Even a random person is great at spotting a lousy idea. “Wilber the farting bulldozer” Your friends should say, “I’m not sure about this.” “Parents might not want their kids reading about a farting bulldozer.”
Now, do some research. If somebody has done the concept, start over. Copy concepts only get 1-star reviews, even if they are excellent. “This is just a poor Harry Potter re-write. Don’t bother reading!”
Remember, your work needs to stand out. How much? 40%. (I have discovered that 40% is an essential estimate for books and life.) Another part of your concept must have a solid story foundation that is not too far away from other books you have read. Look at the various categories on Amazon.com and ask yourself, “Which category would my work be in? What books are already there? How does my idea stand up to these books? Would readers of book X like my work?” Readers will have difficulty connecting to a work that does not fit the standard categories. “A flying cat that solves mysteries.” Umm, try again. “A talking dog that solves mysteries.” OK.
What is your hook? What magic will make people want to “buy it now?” I often read the same bad ideas posted to Writers Helping Writers. “I had a messed-up life and want to write my story.” I typically reply, “What is your hook?” “My life was so bad that people will naturally want to read about me.” Writers seem to think their lives are unique. Why would I ever want to read about a nobody who had a messed-up life? Where is the hero? Why should I feel sorry for you? Where is the spunk? What did I learn? HOW DOES THIS HELP ME?
Here is a simple book by Caitlin Doughty with a great hook: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. It is an exciting account of a funeral home worker and her life. Lots of info and insight. Did the author have a terrible childhood? Yes, but that was not the focus. She focused on the behind-the-scenes world of a funeral home. Side note: I gave the book a positive review on Goodreads and Amazon. Why? Because it was interesting, and I got something out of the story. Great job, Caitlin!
Now, you have a hook, and people like your summary paragraph. Next step. Does this concept have marketing potential? My advice for answering this is to post your idea to a writer’s group and ask for their marketing opinion. Even better, pay for the opinion of a professional book person who knows the publishing industry. How do you find such a person? Ask a writer’s group for advice. If your feedback is negative, radically tweak the concept or start from scratch.
Side note: The book market has and will change. For example, in the 50-70s, western books were all the rage; now, that market is almost nonexistent. So look up your book’s area and make sure readers are interested.
You are ready to begin when you are at least 40% sure you have a marketable concept. Start with some basic questions. How do you see the story unfolding? When are you going to introduce your main character? How is the book structured? Get the entire plot clear in your head before picking up a pen.
This next step is my most important piece of advice. When you have the entire plot wholly vetted, write an outline. This outline is for you, so do not get too wrapped up in making it look great. The goal is to develop a simple guide that shows how the story flows. There are many book outline formats, including the flower method. You can also use Post-its, a whiteboard, or 3x5 cards. I have found Visio to be an excellent method of organizing my thoughts.
My other technique is what I call a bulky paragraph and here is an example:
They travel around Italy. [Research towns in Italy. Find one near the coast.] X find evil man H, he is in a bad way, not good at making money, confront him, argument, X feels the evil for the first time. (chapter break) Learns H has been killing many people to steal their money. X captured by evil army W, escape. H reveals he did not find the secret and said, “Damn. What would Jake do?”
That is an AWFUL mess, but I wrote it for ME, and now I know the exact plot. And you do, too, which is the point. Notice the sample dialog, notes, and use of letters for names. Remember, the idea is to get the story’s essence and show flow. When you have completed your outline, go over it several times. Take a high-level view and pay attention to how the plot unfolds and the motivation. LOOK FOR PLOT ERRORS! How did the killer get the gun? Why didn’t people hear the shot? The killer could have simply taken the subway to escape. Where was the mother during all of this?
At this outline stage, making VAST changes, moving chapters, and altering the main plot is straightforward. Now, you can hit yourself with some questions. How about we change the main character’s gender? Should I introduce the main character in chapter three? What would happen if there were two main characters? Can a reader follow this? How big is the hook? What will improve the story? What does the reader care about? What distracts the reader? Do I have too many subplots? WHAT IS THE MOTIVATION? Is this fun? Is this interesting? What is the side plot?
When you are confident, show the outline to somebody. It should be written barely well enough to get feedback. Listen, and do not be afraid to make bold changes.
Why should you spend so much time on your outline? Once you finish your first draft, a significant change is complex and will have big consequences. For example, change the main character’s gender. Sounds easy, but one single he/she mistake and readers will give you a 1-star review. A subtler issue occurs with the character’s mindset. “She drove her pickup truck like a bad-ass boss!!!” This sentence has valid dialog, but readers would think, “A woman would not say it that way.” Readers are great at picking up flaws, and their 1-star comments will be brutal.
Next, start a character list and make a simple biography for each with notes and basic details.
Smith Family
Mom=Karen, Father=Joe, Son=James. Cat=Mr. Tumbles. Live at 1010 East Street. Joe looks like an angry Darth Vader.
As you write, add facts to the biography and periodically check facts. Also, you can copy parts of your book here, like a character description (like hair color), for later reference. Then, check the fact sheet while writing. Making a mistake, such as calling the father Joey instead of Joe, is huge. Readers HATE basic errors. Important tip: Do not have two characters with the same first or last name unless they are related.
To help you with this character effort, use a random name generator (available online) to develop character names. They have them for different countries, medieval times, and science fiction. My advice is to keep hitting the generate button until something pops. “Joey Potter sounds like a good name for my villain.” Do not use your family/friend names. This gets too confusing and can lead to issues with actual people.
Alright, we have a solid outline and character biography. Begin writing! To help, use my dialog integration format:
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
“Wow, what a great day,” Tim commented. “I will have to go to the market.”
“Wow, what a great day,” he commented. “I will have to go to the market.” (Did you see the lowercase “he”)
“Big dialog paragraph ending without a quote.
“Next dialog paragraph begins with a quote.”
Small paragraph. Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.” (Only integrate small amounts of dialog into a paragraph.)
Big paragraph. (No dialog.)
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
“Sounds great,” Sally replied.
“I will work on that.”
(There is no need to mention who is speaking for the next three lines of dialog. Then, you must add something before, during or after the dialog so the reader knows who is speaking. My rule is one identifier per four lines of dialog or when the speaker’s identity is unclear.)
For thoughts, use italics instead of quotes, but treat them the same as above. (Except use “thought” in place of “said.”) Do not overuse the word “said.” Instead, use a variety of words. Commented, believed, inferred, questioned, or wondered. English experts may disagree with my format, but if you use this format, you will please 95% of your readers. This format will also make it much easier for editors to polish.
Keep in mind that your dialog has to keep the story moving. Also, remember that the reader is not a mind reader, so the dialog has to make sense in the context of non-dialog. Do not get too caught up in slang, obscure words, made-up words, or inside jokes. Dialog is critical for the story, and this is where the emotions come out. “I’m sad,” Bill said in a hurt voice.
My overall dialog management method is to visualize a character and imagine them speaking. This includes assigning a personality (which should be in your character biography). I also imagine my characters from people I know or movie characters, like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway. I would then think about this movie character when I write. “That’s a superb idea,” Bob said in an uplifting voice.
In the film, Tom Hanks’s character would never say, “Golly gee, that’s goody-goody.” Now, the character Shaggy from Scooby Doo probably would.
If you get stuck, exercise (I get my best ideas during bike rides), talk to people, post on writing groups, and take time off. A moderate amount of red wine also helps. Top tip. Other alcohol choices do not help. Guess how I know? Another tip is to write at a fixed time, say, two hours, starting at 6:00. IMPORTANT TIP: Learn to recognize when you are not in the mood to write. If you force yourself, the results will be terrible and take 10X to fix. Also, have other work ready that you can switch to for a brief distraction (like working on the plot for your next book).
Yay, you finished your first draft!
Read over your work and edit at least five times with no specific goal. Then, make one pass for: consistency, dialog, punctuation, spelling, flow, and CHECK FACTS. Now, make two non-specific passes. Trust me. This effort will create better work and save heartache. Typically, I do 20 editing passes, including TWO Grammarly and ProWritingAid passes.
Quick tip: Make a file called temp. Use this to hold large segments for text to copy. Also, copy text here for Grammarly and ProWritingAid and then copy the updated text into your main document. Why? Grammarly and ProWritingAid take forever on large documents.
What is flow? It is how one sentence leads to the next. It is how one paragraph integrates with the next. The reader should not struggle. They should never have to stop and think about what you are saying. “Which person is talking now?” “I’m confused. Where did the killer come from?” “What does this word mean?” This should be in the back of your mind during self-editing.
One more step. You need a title. Start brainstorming to develop 20+ titles. First, cross out all the titles that already exist. Also, cross them out if they are even remotely related to a famous title. “Growing Red October Tomatos” “The Sorcerer’s Stone” With a friend’s help, narrow the list to one. It should be edgy, tight, and provocative.
You now have the best possible work, so give it to somebody for a beta read. But, how do you know you are ready? Simple, track your self-editing. When confident, consider how many changes you made on your last pass. If there are many changes, this means you are not ready. An “I’m finished” point is one edit per three pages.
You want your beta reader to locate significant big-picture issues, point out character flaws, and make comments. You are not looking for grammar/spelling issues, but it is nice when they find them. That is the editor’s job. Plus, you, Grammarly, and ProWritingAid should have already found them. If you get many grammar/spelling issues from your beta reader, this indicates another problem. It might be a beta reader’s lack of experience, or your grammar/spelling is lower than average. In my case, I had two issues. My grammar/spelling was poor, and Grammarly/ProWritingAid did not exist when I wrote my first book.
The comments you want are: “This makes little sense.” “I don’t think Sam would do this.” “Seems unrealistic.” “More explanation.” “How did they get the job?” “More description here.” “Too much information.” “I do not think female readers would like this.” Then, make another five edits, including a Grammarly and ProWritingAid pass. At this time, there should be no plot issues, logic errors, or wrong facts, and the flow is excellent.
Next, format. Make all words the same font, New Times Roman, single-spaced, size 11. All the margins and tabs should be the same. One space between the period and the next sentence. Why? You do not want to waste the editor’s time with formatting issues, like cutting and pasting something from a different document with a different font. Later, the formatter will change the format for publishing.
Next, find an editor. How? Look for their reviews. ALWAYS ask for a sample document that they have edited. Look at their edits, comments, questions, notes, encouragements, and suggestions. (If you do not see additional thoughts, DO NOT USE THIS EDITOR.) Look at how the document improved and see if you can spot missed errors.
So … You have never written a book and want to write one. Where to start? Before we get into writing, there are some crucial tasks.
1) Get a Goodreads account, an Amazon account, and an Amazon author’s account. Then, post reviews for every book you have read on both sites. Your goal will be two per day and at least 200 reviews. Important tip. Review only the books you liked. Why? Carma and getting into the mindset of being successful. In addition, this effort will prepare you for a critical task—the book blurb. Your goal will be to get into the mindset that people will read and comment on your work. Also, it would help if you got into the philosophy of creating something people want. And finally, get into the mindset about books getting excellent reviews.
2) Join Facebook/Twitter/popular online sites and write a short bio about yourself. If you already have an account, create a new page dedicated to your author’s activities. Post stuff about your writing, books, stories, and book-related interests. Important tip: Post only light-hearted stuff. If you like/hate famous person X, keep it to yourself. Many potential book buyers love X. Your goal will be to build hype. “Hey, just about to release my book.” “Wow! I will have to buy it!”
3) Join a writer’s forum like the Facebook group Writers Helping Writers. Important tip. Start by reading lots of posts before posting. I recommend at least two weeks. Then post as often as you can, even if it is just a “thumbs up” to somebody else’s comments. Another excellent post is, “That makes sense.” Your goal is to get yourself out there and gain writing tips.
4) READ A LOT. At least two hours a day. Try to read in the same area (like romance) you are thinking of publishing. This will improve your writing ability and develop style/ideas. It will also get you into the mindset you are writing for others. Read a variety of authors, including non-famous authors. Look for mistakes and think about how YOU would fix the problem.
5) Start a blog. I have one on Goodreads, Facebook, Tumblr, and Medium. Talk about how your writing is going, what books you enjoy, and what it means to be a writer. Keep it high level. No politics or other controversial topics unless it is your thing to offend people. If so, tread lightly.
6) Start thinking about marketing and do research in this area. This is a long, laborious, and expensive journey. “Writing a book is 99% self-marketing and 1% other.” -Me
7) Get a computer with Internet access and Microsoft Word. You can pick up an old copy of Microsoft Word (like 2016) for $30 on eBay. Do not use OpenOffice! Despite all the evil that Microsoft is, they make a great product. This choice avoids issues like, “It looks good on the screen, but when I print, the margins do not line up.” All professional writers use Microsoft Word, which is what editors, print/ebook formatters, and publishers expect. If you do not consider yourself a professional writer (or are at least trying to be one), you must ask yourself why you are undertaking this journey. Trust me, much hard work is ahead of you, and you need the right tools. In addition, you can find the answer when you have a Microsoft Word question. Worst case, you can pay a Microsoft expert. OpenOffice? Yeah, good luck finding out why the margins do not print correctly.
8) I strongly recommend paying for Grammarly and ProWritingAid. (Ensure you only use the Grammarly Word plug-in, not the Windows application.) These two programs will save you time, money, and nasty reviews. In addition, your blogs and book reviews should all pass through these programs.
9) BACK UP YOUR WORK EVERY DAY!! The number of times I read, “My computer got stolen, and I lost five years of work.” Get a memory stick, back up ONCE A WEEK, and put the stick in a fire-proof safe. NO EXCUSES! Install a virus checker and keep your computer updated.
Let’s begin the writing process.
First off, you have a BIG decision. Is this for fun or profit? If it is for fun, the pressure is off, and you can write anything you want without consequence. Who cares if you ever make a buck? Who cares about a grammar, plot, or character mistake? However, once you go down this path, there is no turning back because you will have a trail of shoddy work. On the other hand, if you want to write for profit and fail, you can change your goal to writing for fun.
Writing for profit means having a professional mindset and a serious attitude toward the best possible work. Also, you will need to spend big for an experienced editor, copy editor, cover designer, and formatter. Stop and ask yourself if you have it inside of you.
How much and how long will it take? At least a year and $8,000+ (per book). Yes, that is a lot of money. But if you are resourceful, you can find helpers, intelligent tips, and people you can beg, but there are no shortcuts.
Let’s say you use a shortcut like not having your work professionally edited. Trust me. Readers and critics will tear you apart no matter how hard you try or how good your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are (or the “grammar expert friend” you asked to check out your work). You will get 1-star reviews like, “A 5-year-old wrote this book.” A 1-star review is CRUSHING to an author. PAYING readers expect polished works. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing correctly.” -Some famous person.
What topic should you write about? Unfortunately, I cannot help in this area. Your story has to come from within you, and you need to be 150% passionate about it. This will be a long road, and you will waste your time if you do not have a deep passion.
Now that you have a concept write a paragraph. Go over this paragraph several times to polish it. Important tip. Keep this paragraph; you will need it later.
In the next step, show your paragraph to people and ask them what they think. If people seem apprehensive or take a long time pondering the concept, start over. Even a random person is great at spotting a lousy idea. “Wilber the farting bulldozer” Your friends should say, “I’m not sure about this.” “Parents might not want their kids reading about a farting bulldozer.”
Now, do some research. If somebody has done the concept, start over. Copy concepts only get 1-star reviews, even if they are excellent. “This is just a poor Harry Potter re-write. Don’t bother reading!”
Remember, your work needs to stand out. How much? 40%. (I have discovered that 40% is an essential estimate for books and life.) Another part of your concept must have a solid story foundation that is not too far away from other books you have read. Look at the various categories on Amazon.com and ask yourself, “Which category would my work be in? What books are already there? How does my idea stand up to these books? Would readers of book X like my work?” Readers will have difficulty connecting to a work that does not fit the standard categories. “A flying cat that solves mysteries.” Umm, try again. “A talking dog that solves mysteries.” OK.
What is your hook? What magic will make people want to “buy it now?” I often read the same bad ideas posted to Writers Helping Writers. “I had a messed-up life and want to write my story.” I typically reply, “What is your hook?” “My life was so bad that people will naturally want to read about me.” Writers seem to think their lives are unique. Why would I ever want to read about a nobody who had a messed-up life? Where is the hero? Why should I feel sorry for you? Where is the spunk? What did I learn? HOW DOES THIS HELP ME?
Here is a simple book by Caitlin Doughty with a great hook: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. It is an exciting account of a funeral home worker and her life. Lots of info and insight. Did the author have a terrible childhood? Yes, but that was not the focus. She focused on the behind-the-scenes world of a funeral home. Side note: I gave the book a positive review on Goodreads and Amazon. Why? Because it was interesting, and I got something out of the story. Great job, Caitlin!
Now, you have a hook, and people like your summary paragraph. Next step. Does this concept have marketing potential? My advice for answering this is to post your idea to a writer’s group and ask for their marketing opinion. Even better, pay for the opinion of a professional book person who knows the publishing industry. How do you find such a person? Ask a writer’s group for advice. If your feedback is negative, radically tweak the concept or start from scratch.
Side note: The book market has and will change. For example, in the 50-70s, western books were all the rage; now, that market is almost nonexistent. So look up your book’s area and make sure readers are interested.
You are ready to begin when you are at least 40% sure you have a marketable concept. Start with some basic questions. How do you see the story unfolding? When are you going to introduce your main character? How is the book structured? Get the entire plot clear in your head before picking up a pen.
This next step is my most important piece of advice. When you have the entire plot wholly vetted, write an outline. This outline is for you, so do not get too wrapped up in making it look great. The goal is to develop a simple guide that shows how the story flows. There are many book outline formats, including the flower method. You can also use Post-its, a whiteboard, or 3x5 cards. I have found Visio to be an excellent method of organizing my thoughts.
My other technique is what I call a bulky paragraph and here is an example:
They travel around Italy. [Research towns in Italy. Find one near the coast.] X find evil man H, he is in a bad way, not good at making money, confront him, argument, X feels the evil for the first time. (chapter break) Learns H has been killing many people to steal their money. X captured by evil army W, escape. H reveals he did not find the secret and said, “Damn. What would Jake do?”
That is an AWFUL mess, but I wrote it for ME, and now I know the exact plot. And you do, too, which is the point. Notice the sample dialog, notes, and use of letters for names. Remember, the idea is to get the story’s essence and show flow. When you have completed your outline, go over it several times. Take a high-level view and pay attention to how the plot unfolds and the motivation. LOOK FOR PLOT ERRORS! How did the killer get the gun? Why didn’t people hear the shot? The killer could have simply taken the subway to escape. Where was the mother during all of this?
At this outline stage, making VAST changes, moving chapters, and altering the main plot is straightforward. Now, you can hit yourself with some questions. How about we change the main character’s gender? Should I introduce the main character in chapter three? What would happen if there were two main characters? Can a reader follow this? How big is the hook? What will improve the story? What does the reader care about? What distracts the reader? Do I have too many subplots? WHAT IS THE MOTIVATION? Is this fun? Is this interesting? What is the side plot?
When you are confident, show the outline to somebody. It should be written barely well enough to get feedback. Listen, and do not be afraid to make bold changes.
Why should you spend so much time on your outline? Once you finish your first draft, a significant change is complex and will have big consequences. For example, change the main character’s gender. Sounds easy, but one single he/she mistake and readers will give you a 1-star review. A subtler issue occurs with the character’s mindset. “She drove her pickup truck like a bad-ass boss!!!” This sentence has valid dialog, but readers would think, “A woman would not say it that way.” Readers are great at picking up flaws, and their 1-star comments will be brutal.
Next, start a character list and make a simple biography for each with notes and basic details.
Smith Family
Mom=Karen, Father=Joe, Son=James. Cat=Mr. Tumbles. Live at 1010 East Street. Joe looks like an angry Darth Vader.
As you write, add facts to the biography and periodically check facts. Also, you can copy parts of your book here, like a character description (like hair color), for later reference. Then, check the fact sheet while writing. Making a mistake, such as calling the father Joey instead of Joe, is huge. Readers HATE basic errors. Important tip: Do not have two characters with the same first or last name unless they are related.
To help you with this character effort, use a random name generator (available online) to develop character names. They have them for different countries, medieval times, and science fiction. My advice is to keep hitting the generate button until something pops. “Joey Potter sounds like a good name for my villain.” Do not use your family/friend names. This gets too confusing and can lead to issues with actual people.
Alright, we have a solid outline and character biography. Begin writing! To help, use my dialog integration format:
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
“Wow, what a great day,” Tim commented. “I will have to go to the market.”
“Wow, what a great day,” he commented. “I will have to go to the market.” (Did you see the lowercase “he”)
“Big dialog paragraph ending without a quote.
“Next dialog paragraph begins with a quote.”
Small paragraph. Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.” (Only integrate small amounts of dialog into a paragraph.)
Big paragraph. (No dialog.)
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
Tim was happy and said, “That’s good.”
“Sounds great,” Sally replied.
“I will work on that.”
(There is no need to mention who is speaking for the next three lines of dialog. Then, you must add something before, during or after the dialog so the reader knows who is speaking. My rule is one identifier per four lines of dialog or when the speaker’s identity is unclear.)
For thoughts, use italics instead of quotes, but treat them the same as above. (Except use “thought” in place of “said.”) Do not overuse the word “said.” Instead, use a variety of words. Commented, believed, inferred, questioned, or wondered. English experts may disagree with my format, but if you use this format, you will please 95% of your readers. This format will also make it much easier for editors to polish.
Keep in mind that your dialog has to keep the story moving. Also, remember that the reader is not a mind reader, so the dialog has to make sense in the context of non-dialog. Do not get too caught up in slang, obscure words, made-up words, or inside jokes. Dialog is critical for the story, and this is where the emotions come out. “I’m sad,” Bill said in a hurt voice.
My overall dialog management method is to visualize a character and imagine them speaking. This includes assigning a personality (which should be in your character biography). I also imagine my characters from people I know or movie characters, like Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway. I would then think about this movie character when I write. “That’s a superb idea,” Bob said in an uplifting voice.
In the film, Tom Hanks’s character would never say, “Golly gee, that’s goody-goody.” Now, the character Shaggy from Scooby Doo probably would.
If you get stuck, exercise (I get my best ideas during bike rides), talk to people, post on writing groups, and take time off. A moderate amount of red wine also helps. Top tip. Other alcohol choices do not help. Guess how I know? Another tip is to write at a fixed time, say, two hours, starting at 6:00. IMPORTANT TIP: Learn to recognize when you are not in the mood to write. If you force yourself, the results will be terrible and take 10X to fix. Also, have other work ready that you can switch to for a brief distraction (like working on the plot for your next book).
Yay, you finished your first draft!
Read over your work and edit at least five times with no specific goal. Then, make one pass for: consistency, dialog, punctuation, spelling, flow, and CHECK FACTS. Now, make two non-specific passes. Trust me. This effort will create better work and save heartache. Typically, I do 20 editing passes, including TWO Grammarly and ProWritingAid passes.
Quick tip: Make a file called temp. Use this to hold large segments for text to copy. Also, copy text here for Grammarly and ProWritingAid and then copy the updated text into your main document. Why? Grammarly and ProWritingAid take forever on large documents.
What is flow? It is how one sentence leads to the next. It is how one paragraph integrates with the next. The reader should not struggle. They should never have to stop and think about what you are saying. “Which person is talking now?” “I’m confused. Where did the killer come from?” “What does this word mean?” This should be in the back of your mind during self-editing.
One more step. You need a title. Start brainstorming to develop 20+ titles. First, cross out all the titles that already exist. Also, cross them out if they are even remotely related to a famous title. “Growing Red October Tomatos” “The Sorcerer’s Stone” With a friend’s help, narrow the list to one. It should be edgy, tight, and provocative.
You now have the best possible work, so give it to somebody for a beta read. But, how do you know you are ready? Simple, track your self-editing. When confident, consider how many changes you made on your last pass. If there are many changes, this means you are not ready. An “I’m finished” point is one edit per three pages.
You want your beta reader to locate significant big-picture issues, point out character flaws, and make comments. You are not looking for grammar/spelling issues, but it is nice when they find them. That is the editor’s job. Plus, you, Grammarly, and ProWritingAid should have already found them. If you get many grammar/spelling issues from your beta reader, this indicates another problem. It might be a beta reader’s lack of experience, or your grammar/spelling is lower than average. In my case, I had two issues. My grammar/spelling was poor, and Grammarly/ProWritingAid did not exist when I wrote my first book.
The comments you want are: “This makes little sense.” “I don’t think Sam would do this.” “Seems unrealistic.” “More explanation.” “How did they get the job?” “More description here.” “Too much information.” “I do not think female readers would like this.” Then, make another five edits, including a Grammarly and ProWritingAid pass. At this time, there should be no plot issues, logic errors, or wrong facts, and the flow is excellent.
Next, format. Make all words the same font, New Times Roman, single-spaced, size 11. All the margins and tabs should be the same. One space between the period and the next sentence. Why? You do not want to waste the editor’s time with formatting issues, like cutting and pasting something from a different document with a different font. Later, the formatter will change the format for publishing.
Next, find an editor. How? Look for their reviews. ALWAYS ask for a sample document that they have edited. Look at their edits, comments, questions, notes, encouragements, and suggestions. (If you do not see additional thoughts, DO NOT USE THIS EDITOR.) Look at how the document improved and see if you can spot missed errors.
Important tip. Do not treat your editor like a garbage collector. If you know your work has errors, FIX THEM. (Like not capitalizing a state name.) You want to give the editor the absolute best possible work so they can concentrate on genuine issues. Otherwise, they will spend time fixing the simple stuff and feel they have accomplished something impressive.
Important issue. What if the editor did not spot many mistakes, made too many corrections, or disagreed significantly with your direction? There is no choice. You accidentally picked a lousy editor. Incorporate the valuable comments, do a Grammarly/ProWritingAid, and one more self-edit pass. Then, hire another editor. Sadly, I had to do this three times at my own expense.
Important tip. Think of hiring an editor as a paid job interview. You are looking to build a long-term relationship and hire them multiple times. If the editor does not go into this process with the idea of “I am trying to impress you,” then you know not to use them again. Sadly, this is an expensive interview process.
Should you ask your potential editor to edit one chapter? I have gone down this road before. This is the mark of desperation on the editor’s part. A promising sign is when the editor says, “I can fit you in in three weeks,” this means they are busy with other work, meaning that other authors value them. If they say, “I can fit you in in six months,” this is not good for a long-term relationship
last pass should have nearly zero changes, indicating that you are satisfied. However, using an editor presents a problem when the edits disagree with Grammarly, ProWritingAid, or your beta reader. My advice? Do your best, but remember you paid for the editor’s opinion. At this stage, you have a polished work, which is the absolute best it can be. But there will be subtle issues that you or the editor did not spot.
To solve this, hire a copy editor. This step is $$$, but essential. A copy editor looks for the little nitpick grammar mistakes, detailed logic issues, and checks facts. This is the final polish, but you must check their work.
There is a massive issue at this last stage. You must “trust the force” and let the copy editor take control. If they make an edit and you disagree, go with their edit. This hands-off rule is super difficult. Make five more passes, but they should be super light. (On average, one word per three pages.) If you want to improve something, remember that your improvement has not been copy-edited. So tread carefully.
YAY, you are done! Now, for the harder part: publish your work. Then, the impossible: marketing your work.
You’re the best -Bill
December, 21, 2018 Updated March 26, 2023, July 10, 2024, November 18, 2024
Important issue. What if the editor did not spot many mistakes, made too many corrections, or disagreed significantly with your direction? There is no choice. You accidentally picked a lousy editor. Incorporate the valuable comments, do a Grammarly/ProWritingAid, and one more self-edit pass. Then, hire another editor. Sadly, I had to do this three times at my own expense.
Important tip. Think of hiring an editor as a paid job interview. You are looking to build a long-term relationship and hire them multiple times. If the editor does not go into this process with the idea of “I am trying to impress you,” then you know not to use them again. Sadly, this is an expensive interview process.
Should you ask your potential editor to edit one chapter? I have gone down this road before. This is the mark of desperation on the editor’s part. A promising sign is when the editor says, “I can fit you in in three weeks,” this means they are busy with other work, meaning that other authors value them. If they say, “I can fit you in in six months,” this is not good for a long-term relationship
last pass should have nearly zero changes, indicating that you are satisfied. However, using an editor presents a problem when the edits disagree with Grammarly, ProWritingAid, or your beta reader. My advice? Do your best, but remember you paid for the editor’s opinion. At this stage, you have a polished work, which is the absolute best it can be. But there will be subtle issues that you or the editor did not spot.
To solve this, hire a copy editor. This step is $$$, but essential. A copy editor looks for the little nitpick grammar mistakes, detailed logic issues, and checks facts. This is the final polish, but you must check their work.
There is a massive issue at this last stage. You must “trust the force” and let the copy editor take control. If they make an edit and you disagree, go with their edit. This hands-off rule is super difficult. Make five more passes, but they should be super light. (On average, one word per three pages.) If you want to improve something, remember that your improvement has not been copy-edited. So tread carefully.
YAY, you are done! Now, for the harder part: publish your work. Then, the impossible: marketing your work.
You’re the best -Bill
December, 21, 2018 Updated March 26, 2023, July 10, 2024, November 18, 2024
