What I learned from writing a book
For those of you who follow along with my book updates:
I’ve finished!!
I completed my manuscript at the beginning of December, and have already gotten feedback from my Beta readers.
It’s been quite the experience, and I’ve learned SO MUCH. I wanted to share the most important lessons with you.
Here are six things I’ve learned from writing a book:
- I can do hard things (the reminder is helpful)
- Writing a book takes a long longer than I ever thought (see also: number 1)
- The shitty first draft is real. It’s a write of passage (See what I did there?) and the only way out is through.
- There is something so profoundly settling about doing what you say what you’re going to. Not to others, but to yourself. I’ve had the idea for this book in my head for close to 20 years… and I always said “one day” until it finally became “today.” (And today and today… see this post for reference)
- The best writers are superb editors (see number 3)
- Even if the book was written as a total pantser (writing the scenes as they come, regardless of sequence), at some point a timeline will need to be made to keep it all straight. (See number 5)
And now? Now I’m onto the next phase of becoming a published author: getting an agent.
While my Beta readers love the book and want more (yay!), I’m now diving into the business side of the literary world, and what I’m finding is…
My book is a monster.
The internet tells me the book is too long, a friend who used to be in the publishing business told me it’s too long, but with positive reviews from my Beta Readers, and an acquaintance in publishing that said “the length is fine,” I started querying agents anyway (a job in and of itself— one I can expound upon in another post).
I’ve already heard back from two agents that said…
“It’s too long.”
Fine. Fiiiiiiiiine.
I’ve sharpened my machete and am hacking the fluff, the extras. I’m carving paragraphs out, deleting entire chapters, asking “Does this move the story forward? Is this relevant in any other part of the book?”
If the answer is no…
It goes.
Even if I love it.
Even if it *could* be relevant later.
The goal is to get from 174,000 words to 125,000 without compromising the writing or the integrity of the story.
The good news is: I’m going to have so many deleted and bonus scenes to share once it’s published!
The other good news: I actually really, really enjoy editing. It’s like solving a literary puzzle.
Writing is throwing a net over the ideas and wrestling onto the page whatever gloopy, goopy form they come in.
Editing is getting the chisel, and slowly revealing the beautiful creation underneath (reminds me of Z in Surf’s Up and his board-shaping philosophy).
This is simply part of the process, and I share it in case you, too, are going through something that is taking longer than you thought it would, whether it’s a book or another project.
It’s all part of the ride.