I got an email from a woman today asking for my advice about writing a novel.
Here's what she wants to know:
"I have wanted to write a novel for some time about my college experience, but I haven't figured out how to tell the story in a way that would be interesting to other people. Some [news] events of the past week have cleared my blocks and, I think, given me a good story.... I think for this to sell, it would need to come out fairly quickly. I've got a good outline, and I think I can write a chapter or two a day, so the first draft would be finished in three to four weeks. Do you think I could start shopping it around before it's finished based on the content? Or would I need to go through several drafts and get it perfect before I tried to shop it around?"
My answer to her might be useful to you, too:
1. As you will soon find out, writing a novel isn't as easy as it seems. To write a really good one takes more than a few weeks and will probably require much rewriting.
2. There's no need to rush your book onto the market because most book production takes a year from getting an agent and book deal to actual publication. It can go faster, of course, if you self publish, but you will have to do ALL of the promoting, and you won't be able to get into most book stores because they have a bias against self-published books.
3. Even though the events prompting you to write are fresh and in the news now, the story you're writing will, no doubt, contain universal truths that will continue to be relevant long after the news story fades from memory.
4. Don't start shopping your manuscript until it's finished. For works of fiction, the manuscript has to be completed. That's because not all "great ideas" are well executed, so no one is going to want to take a chance on an unknown writer.
5. I mentioned rewriting. One mistake new writers make is that they try shopping their manuscript too soon. They wrongly assume the first draft is "good enough." A wiser approach is to accept that your first draft will suck. Then loop back and read it fresh -- and critically -- after it's had a chance to marinate. Once you've reworked the manuscript, give it to a few people who will give you honest feedback about what works and -- more importantly -- what doesn't. You may think you've written clearly, but you won't know for sure until someone objective tells you that you haven't.
6. Only when it's as good as you can get it will it be time to look for an agent. And it's the agent route that I suggest because agents have relationships with publishers and can get a publisher to read your manuscript. Approaching a publisher directly is usually futile because they don't have time to read it -- and they probably won't.
All that said, I don't want to discourage you. I think it's wise to take something that really happened to you and fictionalize it because it will be a much more compelling story and you'll be able to delve more deeply into the psyches of your various characters.
One thing I'm doing with my new-found freedom from CNN is being a writing coach. I do one-hour one-on-one tutorials via Skype on the writing process. One session is "How to Write a Novel in 15 Steps." I'm also a manuscript editor. I do nit-pick copy editing, plus assess the story and how it's being told.
So...... even if you don't utilize any of my services, I really want to encourage you to run with your idea. Run hard and strong with it and, most importantly: Have fun with it!
JD
www.johndedakis.com
These days, with so many writers self-publishing, I think the publishing world is beginning to accept - perhaps grudgingly - that it's better to let it in, instead of keeping the door closed.
Roger Burke
"Do you think I could start shopping it around before it's finished based on the content? Or would I need to go through several drafts and get it perfect before I tried to shop it around?"
It took five complete re-writes and 24 (twenty-four) years to get my first novel, "the Climbing Boy" published and 28 years to have an agent, whom I no longer have. While trying and waiting for publishing I wrote and re-wrote and re-wrote "Becoming" then "For Better or Worse". And it then took another four years, after "The Climbing Boy" to get "Becoming" published and another three for "For Better or Worse". And, by the way, as back then was when a SASS (self addressed, self stamped envelope) was required I had, literally hundreds and hundreds of written rejections.
Sorry, but I find it laughable that someone would think that, "Gee, I'm writing a novel and the whole world is sitting on pins and needles to read what I have written..." Your writer must be one of "The Instant Gratification Generation.
But, for your part, John, very good advice.
Mark Lichterman