Writing a novel is not for sissies. Sure, anyone can tell a story, but can you do it without putting your reader to sleep? Storytelling dates back to the dawn of humankind. When you ask someone what they did today, you’re looking for a story, not a statistical analysis of the day’s activities. Who did you meet? What happened at work? Why do you care? Characters, plot, motivation – all reasons we like a good story. Don’t forget this when you’re writing your book.

So far I’ve completed one novel and written half of another, and another, and another. It’s much easier to begin than to finish.

Here’s what I’ve learned from finishing the novel that is now under contract with an agent:

1. Choose a topic you’re passionate about. You’ll be spending weeks, months, years at the task. If you’re not passionate about your story you may lose interest before you finish – and when you think you’re done, you won’t be.

2. Write quickly. It won’t be perfect, so just don’t worry about that. When I finished my first manuscript, I thought it was perfect. I’m a member of Mensa after all! Wrong! Step #3 is as important as any other.

3. Put your manuscript away and don’t look at it. Take a break for a month or two. Reward yourself with a vacation or something else fun. You won’t be able to look at your manuscript objectively until you’ve been away from it for at least several weeks. Get it out of your head so you can approach it fresh when it’s time for step #4.

4. Have fun with editing. Laugh at your mistakes. Don’t get too attached to specific words or phrases. There’s a million ways to tell the same story, and odds are, you haven’t found the best one on the first go-around. Eliminate anything that interferes with the flow. Read it out loud and see how you like the sound. Be ruthless with adverbs and flowery language. Simplicity is always best.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4. Going over your work once will result in dramatic improvement. Doing it twice is the icing on the cake. Even twice may not be enough. You learn as you go, after all, and by the time you get to the end you may have a different opinion of the beginning. But don’t edit your book to death. Unless it’s a classic that will stand the test of time, when you’re sick of editing, move on. Your next novel may be better yet.

 

Image via Wikipedia

That’s it. Nothing magical. Just perseverance and elimination of ego. If you get this far, finding an agent and publisher should be a piece of cake. 

Copyright 2010 MD Books USA

Related articles by Zemanta

• Book Review: The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing: The 16-Step Blueprint by Evan Marshall (blogcritics.org)
• A working life: The romantic novelist (guardian.co.uk)
• Melanie Benjamin: Stop the Insanity and Just Write, Already (huffingtonpost.com)
• Finding The Perfect Title For Your Novel (advancedfictionwriting.com)

Mine was not the typical path to publication.

To start with, I’m not your typical writer. Not that I don’t write all day, but do prescriptions count? Most of my writing consists of (sometimes sloppy) chart notes and (sometimes illegible) prescriptions.

I have started five books, however. Starting’s the easy part. Finishing is another story altogether.

But I did finally finish one. At least I thought I had. Turns out, I didn’t really understand re-writing. I thought my writing was pretty good, excellent in fact. I was all gung-ho to find an agent and a publisher.

But that process was more difficult than I’d imagined. I did go to one writing conference and talk to a dozen agents. Was it just me, that they weren’t interested? Two years later I still don’t know. Certainly my topic was an unusual one.

Well, by that time I’d let my manuscript sit awhile. When I re-read it months later I was horrified. I had written that? Stilted conversation, Germanesque sentences, trite commentary?

And so the re-writing began. The book shortened from 117,000 words to 110,000 – and I was certain it was perfect. I’d kind of given up on traditional publishing and printed several online. It was pretty good, I thought. My friends and family said so, too. I was ready to go big time.

Or so I thought. Out of the blue a friend of mine who teaches college writing offered to edit my manuscript. That should be easy, I thought proudly. She’ll probably love it and get lost in the story.

Wrong – again. She asked me not to hate her. Some of her comments were painful indeed.

So, again, I went through the book. We only made it 2/3 of the way through before school started and she ran out of time. I learned a lot from her editing, though – enough, perhaps, to continue on my own. Now it’s perfect, I thought. And down to 104,000 words – nothing left to cut. In his book on writing Stephen King had said to trim 10%, and I’d already gone beyond that.

But I was busy with life and put the book down again. In fact, I wasn’t thinking much about it at all when an agent called me. I’d visited her agency before. Would I be interested in her representing my book? I guess so, I think I said, my mind elsewhere. Certainly not the enthusiastic response she probably expected. The thing was, I’d given up on traditional publishing. Too frustrating and time-consuming to bother. And the holidays were coming up. And things work too slowly in the publishing world anyway.

Now here’s where the story gets interesting.

It was February 2009. We had a new president, intent on health reform. One day I heard him promise health reform in six months. Six months? I couldn’t believe my ears. It couldn’t possibly be done that quickly. I bet I know 100 ways to help patients save money today, I thought to myself. I grabbed a pencil, sat down at the kitchen table, and started writing. Half an hour later the list was done. I’d had my catharsis. I almost through the list away. Then I started thinking: these ideas could help a lot of people. Why not write a book?

And so I did. I knew from the beginning I would self-publish. I planned to get the book written and to the printer within four months. I almost made it. By six months the book was published, I’d lined up a distributor, and sales were slowly climbing.

Again the holidays came and went. I was putzing along, selling a reasonable number of books, doing frequent radio interviews and occasional newspaper stories.

And that’s when a publisher came to me. Turns out, they were looking for a book on the topic, had ordered mine, and liked it. Would I be interested in updating the book for re-release?

Again my answer was equivocal. Maybe so, I answered, doubting the project would go forward. But they were persistent and by then I’d spoken with the agent for my other book. She was a fountain of information about traditional publishing. She told me how incredibly fortunate I was.

As of today the health book is six weeks from publication. Not only had they offered me a contract, they’d put the book on a crash schedule for quick release: nine months from initial contact to books in stores.

I’m not quite yet a published author, but it IS happening, and in a bigger way than I’d ever expected. I haven’t mentioned all the work this has involved – the re-writing, editing, blogging, web site development, publicity, etc. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours.

Oh, and what about my first book? My agent told me it needed to be under 100,000 words to draw the interest of a publisher. Aargh! I didn’t see where another 4,000 words could be chopped. But after letting the manuscript sit a few months (again!) I could see more clearly. After another few months of editing, it’s at 99,634 and (almost) on the way to… somewhere.

Copyright © 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to Get Published, Part 8: No Agent? Other Paths to Publication (blogher.com)
• How To Get Published, Part 9: Working With an Editor (blogher.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Frustrated and ready to give up?  Perhaps that’s why you’re here.

Already you’ve spent months, perhaps years, on your manuscript.  Finally, time for publication!  What fun!

But the agents you’ve approached were lukewarm at best.  One rejection follows another and you’re not quite sure why.  Is it the market?  Is it your writing?  Is your topic unmarketable?

You decide to stick with your day job.  Who has time to chase from agent to agent and publisher to publisher?  It almost seems sinful, spending time on a fruitless endeavor when you could be helping people at your day job.

I know.  I’ve been there.  Sure there are young authors willing to play the game.  There’s nothing wrong with traditional publishing – in fact, it’s great!  I have a wonderful editor, a first-rate publisher, a great publicist, and a like-minded agent who’s become a dear friend.  Why, then, did I establish a new publishing venue aimed at the health professional?

As a fellow primary care physician I know how busy you are.  And your job is important (perhaps more important than your beloved manuscript).  Your time, especially, is valuable.  No doubt the hours spent on your manuscript could buy you a trip around the world, if you’d been paid for them.

But still, you’d like to get the word out, have your voice heard beyond the confines of your medical office. 

And that’s why we’re here.

We have nothing against traditional publishing.  In fact, we’ll help you find a traditional publisher if your work is marketable to the mainstream publishing industry.

And we are not a vanity press.  We won’t ask you to pay to publish your work. 

But neither are we looking to publish schlock nor works that cannot be sold. 

If your manuscript is in terrible shape and needs significant work, we’ll tell you so.  If the timing of your topic is out of sync with the publishing world, we’ll explain that as well.  If you have a niche product that appeals to only a small audience, we’ll help you work in that direction.

Working with you, to achieve your goals, is our aim.  That may be different from author to author.  Maybe you just want to reach patients with a particular problem. 

Whatever your goal may be, we’ll work with you to achieve an innovative solution.  You’ll be involved every step of the way.  Visit our Publishing Options page to learn about the exciting  possibilities.