10 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU START WRITING YOUR BOOK
Hello,
everybody!
The new year is here, which mean sit's time
for new year resolutions! Let me guess, one of your goals is to write a book?
That's why you're here on my channel... Before you start tapping at that keyboard,
I am breaking down the 10 things you should do first. Writing a book isn’t
easy! It doesn't magically fall out of your mind-vagina. If you implement these
10 steps before you start writing, the process will go a lot more smoothly.
Number One (1): Study structure.
The number one most common issues I see among newbie
writers are structure. You guys do not know how to build a cohesive, naturally
flowing plot. Contrary to popular assumption, you cannot write a series of
unrelated events and call it a novel. I mean, you can, but no one's goanna read
it! Plots need to have a beginning, middle, and end. An inciting incident,
rising action, climax, and resolution. Before you write a single word, read as
many books and articles as you can on storytelling structure. There are SO many
different types to choose from. Some are really simple. Some are a lot more
complicated. You don't have to commit to one style, but you should familiarize
yourself to the point where it is instinctive in your writing. Many writers
develop their own structure overtime, and it's usually a mishmash of other
popular structures. But you can't really get there unless you do the
research...
I can't
emphasize this enough. Your career will thank you for this, and so will your
readers. Number Two (2): Read about the craft. I feel like this should go
without saying, but common sense isn’t common. I don't care how smart you are,
or how many books you've read.
I don't care if your mom says you're special.
Check out some craft books from the library and brush up on your writing
skills. Even if you're the best writer in the world, which I guarantee you're
not, these books will at least confirm what you already know. Number Three (3):
Research publishing. You don't have to make a decision regarding your
publishing path before you start writing, but the industry is so complex and
ever changing that fully understanding it can literally take years. Because of
this, it's better to get started now as opposed to later. It took me THREE
YEARS of consistent research to feel comfortable with my knowledge of the
publishing industry, and literally six months after I stopped researching, at
least five different publishing standards were changed. I had to do that shit
all over again! Save yourself some future stress and start educating yourself
now.
Now, I began
my research at the library, but actually don't recommend this for this
particular topic. Again, the publishing industry is constantly evolving, so if
you're reading a book on publishing that was published more than a year ago, it’s
already outdated. I'd recommend starting your research online with articles or
publishing platforms themselves.
You can also check out authors who talk about
their own personal publishing experiences. Just make sure that whatever
information you ‘reabsorbing is relevant and timely. Number Four (4): Thought
dump! Or brainstorm. Same thing! I find it's easiest to write a story after
I’ve dumped all of my ideas for it into a Word doc. It doesn't have to be
organized. The ideas don’t even have to be good! I just got to get 'me out my
head. Usually, my thought dump process takes about week, and then I spend some
time organizing my thoughts. Which ones are good, which ones were absolutes hit?
It's nice to get your ideas on paper because one, you'll have them saved for
later in case you forget. And two, it makes starting a novel feel a lot less
overwhelming because you have an actual starting point. You've got content,
however messy and disjointed, to work with.
Number Five
(5): Outline. "But Jenna, I don't outline! I'm a panther!" Then
ignore this step! Simple. Or complain in the comments... Whatever. For everyone
else, outlining is a pivotal process for a majority of writers. It's not always
fun. It can be very difficult, but it exists to make writing the book itself LESS
difficult. Fewer plot holes and inconsistencies. A stronger structure. Shorter
drafting time.
That's what
you can expect out of outlining. There are a billion different outlining
techniques. Some are very detailed, others are vague. You can kind of test the
waters and figure out which method works best for you. I have links to my
outlining videos listed below. I highly recommend them, because they're
awesome! Number Six (6): Create a social media presence. If you plan to publish
a book and sell it for money, then the soonest you should start developing a
social media presence...is yesterday. Your social media accounts should be under
whatever name you plan to publish under.
Not sure what names you is goanna use? Figure
that out now! You also need to understand who you will likely market this book
to. If it's young adult that means teenagers, which means you should be
choosing social media platforms that cater to teenagers. Instagram, Twitter,
Tumblr, possibly Snapchat. If your book is for boomers, Facebook is going to be
your number one social media site.
I know you
probably haven't even thought about target audiences or pen names, but it takes
YEARS to build up a social media audience, so you need to get started as soon
as possible. Number Seven (7): Plan a platform. You don't need to build your
entire platform before you start writing a book. In fact, that would probably
be a mistake, but you should at least be planning what your author platform
should look like. You're obviously going to need an author website at some
point, but most authors’ platforms are more extensive than that. Are you going
to have a blog? If so, what blogging platform are you going to use? What are
you going to blog about?
These are
questions you should be asking yourself. What about podcasting, or YouTube? Are
you going to offer advice, personal experience, or entertainment? What are the
strengths and skills that youkan offer to an audience? Some writers are also
great photographers and build a huge platform on Instagram. You should at the
very least be thinking about this now, maybe doing some research so you can
grow your platform over time.
If you don't
know where to start, I have class on Skill share all about growing an author
platform! I've got it linked below. Number Eight (8): Create a budget.
Releasing a book, no matter which publishing path you choose, is NOT going to
be free. If you go the traditional route, fantastic! Your publisher is going to
pay for the edit, the cover art, the copyright, and so on. If your publisher
asks you for any money, run in the opposite direction! It is a vanity press and
that is a SCAM. That said, your publisher is not going to market you to the
extent that your novel will require. Most of the marketing is going to fall on
your shoulders, and marketing isn’t cheap. You're goanna have to fork out some
cash. Sorry 'bout it! If you're going the Indie route, congratulations! You get
to pay for everything yourself! The edit, the second edit, the proofread, the
cover art, the copyright, the formatting. And of course, marketing. You can cut
corners if you'd like, but your book is goanna look like shit.
No one will
buy it. I have a video all about budgeting linked below. Watch it! Start that
shit now, you will thank me later. Number Nine (9): Read your genre. If you're
writing a novel, you should read novels. But more specifically, you should read
novels in your genre. I know it's not always fun. Sometimes we write what we
want to read because the content we're looking for doesn't exist. But this is
beneficial to you, both as a writer and a marketer. Reading expands your
vocabulary and helps to solidify your technique, which will make you a better
writer. It also shows you what not to do. If you're reading a book and you hate
it, try to understand what about the story isn't working for you. Likewise, if
something is done really well, analyze it! See if you can possibly utilize that
technique in your own future work. Additionally, familiarizing yourself with
the genre will make it easier for you to market your book in the future. You'll
know what kind of covers sell. You'll know which tropes are marketable and
which ones aren't. I make it a habit to read at least 25 pages before bed each
night. It's not hard to do and it will have a substantial impact on your
career. And Number Ten (10): Set your goals. "But Jenna, my goal is to
write a book!" Writing a book can take a year, and that’s if you're
speedy. Might want to be a BIT more specific. The process of writing a book, especially
if it's your first time, is very slow and overwhelming. If your goal is
exclusively to write and publish book, then your finish line is hundreds of
miles into the distance. That is really intimidating. Thus, it is to your
benefit to create smaller, achievable goals throughout the timeline of your
writing process. Your first handful of goals could be as follows: create three
social media accounts, outline your book, and write 10,000 words, and you’re
giving yourself one month to do this. This is a lot more manageable. These are
things you can definitely achieve in one month. Once the goals are complete,
create new ones and keep going until the book is done. This will make the
process MUCH easier, plus you get to reward yourself with so many wins along
the way. So that's all I got for you today! I know you thought writing a book
would be straightforward, but that's because you're a wee bit dumb. It's okay,
we're all a little dumb when we get started, and it's my job to help you avoid
the mistakes all us published folks have already made along the way. Don't
forget to subscribe to my channel! I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you
want to be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell! Cause you know I'm
always hitting' you with the bonus content! The Savior's Champion is available
in eBook, paperback, hardback, signed hardback, as well as audiobook!
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