Do you really want to be published?
It is my guess that most writers want to be published in some form.
Not all, of course. There are some people quite happy to pen their thoughts purely for their own pleasure – or perhaps just for a small circle of family and friends.
There are many others who are striving hard to gain the nod of approval from publishers and desire to see their words in print. I’m one of them, and have enjoyed the thrill of seeing my stories and poems in print. To this point my success has been modest. I also get great pleasure in the knowledge that I have many hundreds of readers of my three blogs, including this one.
Fiona Maddock on the site Write for your life has written a thought provoking article called Unknown and unpublished: enjoy it while it lasts. She explains that the unpublished writer has freedoms not enjoyed by a published author and I’d agree. Unpublished writers can write whatever takes their fancy, have no set deadlines and can write as much or as little as they wish.
She doesn’t leave the article there, of course, going on to outline some basic but essential things to remember to do on one’s journey to becoming a published writer. We should not forget the basics of grammar, spelling, punctuation, editing and rewriting.
Sound advice.
Good writing.
My novel is finished
1 Comment »22nd December, 2010; Category: Blogging, Books, Master of Arts course, Novels, The Writer's Life, Writing a novel
I would like to give a big apology to all of my loyal, regular readers. Both of you!
I’m sorry I haven’t updated this site much in recent months. I have been extremely busy working on finalising my Master of Arts Creative Writing thesis paper. This paper consisted of a 40,000 word novel for children (ages 10-12) and a 10,000 word exegesis essay on the writing of the novel.
Last week I finally finished all the last minute editing and proofreading. I had it professionally printed (3 copies) and bound. With a sense of relief I handed it up to my supervising lecturer who organised to have it sent off to two examiners. Now I have a 6-8 week wait to find out if I’ve passed my degree. I am quietly confident of passing because all three of my supervisors approved the final draft, noting that it had improved vastly from earlier drafts.
I found the rewriting phase both fascinating and frustrating. It was frustrating because right up to the final draft I was making changes. Considering it was the 17th draft that I submitted, that’s an amazing amount of rewriting. On the flip side, however, it was fascinating to observe the effect of all those changes. Towards the end of the process I read the whole manuscript aloud several times. Despite being too close to the story, even I could tell how much it had improved in the final stages. Other readers were very positive in their feedback concerning the changes.
One of the most significant changes I made after the 6th draft was to totally rewrite the whole novel, changing it from the third to the first person. This was more difficult than I first imagined because remnants of the earlier third person persisted for several drafts. Eventually all was ironed out and the story is much stronger for the change. Being inside the head of the protagonist is so much more immediate and intimate, perhaps even confronting at times. His unique voice comes over much stronger now.
Now that I’ve submitted it for marking I am going to give myself a few weeks break before preparing the manuscript for sending off to a publisher. I am mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted at present, so a short break – with lots of reading – should refresh and recharge the batteries.
I might even get to add a few more updates on this site in the meantime.
Good writing.
Do, or do not.
Today’s quote:
“Do, or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Fact: Many people would like to write a book.
Fact: Few people actually start writing a book.
Fact: Very few people actually finish writing a book.
Fact: Of those that finish writing a book, very few get published.
Like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, people have a go. They try to write a book, not realising the long journey on which they have embarked. When the going gets tough, they give up. So many give up so easily.
You cannot “try” to write a book. You must do it, or not. If you don’t have the persistence, don’t even start.
Harsh words, yes, but that is the reality.
Good writing.
Further reading:
I would love to write a book
Today’s quote:
“I would love to write a book, but unfortunately, I don’t have a pen.” (Unknown source – it came to me from a Facebook friend)
We might laugh at a saying like this, but for some people, any simple excuse is enough to stop them from writing. Some common excuses are:
- I don’t have enough time.
- The timing is wrong – I’ll wait until I retire.
- I don’t have a good computer.
- I don’t know what to write about.
- I’m too busy.
- I’m too tired after a day at work.
- I have nowhere where I can write.
- I don’t have a pen.
You get the drift?
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
If you want to write a book, you actually have to start putting words down on paper – or at least in the hard-drive of your computer. There is no other way. Books will not write themselves. (Someone reading this in my archives in 50 years time might be able to argue that point, but I won’t be around to defend myself.)
So you want to write a book?
Good. Now stop reading this – and start writing (but don’t forget to come back here tomorrow; I’ll be waiting for you).
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – articles outlining how I went about writing a novel.
- A writer’s virtues: patience and persistence
Slow progress on my novel
Slow progress on editing
Over the last few days I have commenced the tough task of editing my novel for children. I’ve had several friends read the rough first draft manuscript and give me feedback on it. I’ve been steadily working through these and making some changes to the work.
Rewriting
Some of the changes are purely of the typographical type; spelling errors, missing words or letters, errors of grammar and so on. These are generally easy to fix. Several readers are also on the lookout for sentences or passages which do not make sense, or which are inconsistent with other parts of my story. These often need rewriting and that can be not only time consuming but also frustrating when trying to get it all right.
Distractions
The progress on my novel has also been hampered this week by other events and illness. Over recent weeks I’ve had a very bad back. I’m not sure about the cause, but it is being very painful if I stand or walk for more than a few minutes. Fortunately, writers can do a lot of sitting. I can’t help thinking that my lack of exercise and general fitness has been a major contributing factor to the back problem now facing me. As a consequence I’ve recently been to my doctor twice, my physiotherapist twice and the local hospital for x-rays-all in the last week. All those appointments cut into the writing day.
Then today I had to fulfill a speaking engagement arranged some time ago. I spoke to a group of elderly people over lunch about another of my passions-Australian birds. I also showed photos of birds to illustrate my talk. While this was enjoyable, and I received plenty of great feedback from the listeners, it severely cut into my writing hours.