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So, you want to write a book…what do you do first?

Tobi’s perspective:

I just finished a manuscript and sent it off in hopes getting traditionally published. For context, I’ve written and published over a dozen. I’m not sending my latest manuscript to a dozen different places or even agents. If this publisher doesn’t take it, I’ll indie publish.

Here’s why:

• Benefits of traditional publishing:
  • They have an audience.
  • They handle the cover, pricing, and editing.
  • There is no charge for this because they take a cut of your royalties. If they are charging for this, it’s a scam.
  • Your editor gives great advice.
• Cons of traditional publishing:
  • You don’t get total control over the cover or pricing.
  • You still have to market.
  • You still must find and grow your audience.
  • You might not have control of your audiobook rights.
  • You share royalties.
• Benefits of indie publishing:
  • You control every aspect of your project.
  • Higher royalty return.
  • You control your audiobook rights.
• Cons of indie publishing:
  • You are responsible for every aspect of your project.
  • You have to pay up front for the cover, editing, and audiobook narration unless you can do all those things yourself.

So, you’ve got this great story idea brewing in your head and you’re ready to immortalize it. Take a few minutes to read this hard-learned lessons.

Who is your audience? Sheila and I talk about this all the time. Do you know where your book fits in the market? Where would the library or bookstore shelve your book? I write cozy mystery and romantic suspense. Some romance readers don’t enjoy cozy mysteries, and some romantic suspense people don’t want a cozy. My covers, titles, settings, heat levels, and focus of the stories are different because the readers (and publishers) have expectations. But what if you’ve written a genre bending story that’s never been written before. Doubtful, you might need to read more. Or if you have, cool, but you have to find your audience. Niche stuff sells if you find the folks that want to read your story. A case in point, post Twilight traditional publishers said NO MORE VAMPIRES. But indie writers found a huge audience and the paranormal readers have grown. Just because a traditional publisher doesn’t want to market your book, doesn’t mean there isn’t an audience. This is why many romance authors are indie published.

However, your readers have expectations. If I’m writing a cozy mystery or a romantic suspense, the mystery part of the story has to be on the page pretty quickly. This means if you’ve written a story that you consider is a mystery, but the mystery doesn’t come up until the midpoint, you haven’t written a mystery. You’ve written a book with mysterious elements. Or worse, if the mystery isn’t solved by the end of the book, you’re dead to me as an author. If I pick up your book and the cover looks like a mystery, the title looks like a mystery, but no mystery happens by page 25, I’m not going to keep reading.

If you’re a pantser who just wants to sit down and write and then figure out what kind of story it is later, I would caution you. Every pantser I know has a general idea if they are writing a thriller or a romance. If you’re idea doesn’t really have an identity or location on a bookshelf, it could be a premise or a scene idea.

For example, I have a scene plotted out in my head that is an accidental marriage because someone who hates the hero wants to screw with them. Did you know that in California you can have a private ceremony performed in front of a notary public and never have to go into the registrar’s office? It’s true. What if the nemesis steals the hero’s and heroine’s identities and gets them married? That Lifelock alert would be crazy! It’s a great idea for a scene, but it’s not a story. It’s a premise for a story, the hook, the beginning, but there is no middle or end there. This is where a lot of new writers find themselves and why they quit writing after 30,000 words.

So, really, who is your audience for your book? Where will your story idea be on a bookshelf? How do your characters change and grow during the story? If you’re writing literary fiction, does your story change the reader’s perspective on life or the world? If you’re writing memoir, what life lesson are you imparting on the reader. No book should just be following a character around while they think.

Stick with me, I’ve got a solution. Re-read  your favorite book. Bonus points if it’s a book in the same genre as you want to write. Look for the following things:

1. Who is/are the main character/s?
2. What do they want at the beginning of the book? This should be a tangible thing, like a car, a new job, a promotion. This is their external goal.
3. What is stopping them from getting it? This is the conflict.
4. What are they missing in their life and longing for (either knowingly or unknowingly)? This is their internal goal. It’s intangible, and often genre related. So, in a mystery it would be justice. In a romantic suspense, it would be unconditional love and justice.
5. What is stopping them from changing to become the person they want to be? This is their internal conflict…and this is key to the whole story.
6. What is their baggage? What thing happened in their childhood that changed the way they view the world even today? For example, raised by a narcissist they’ve learned that nothing they do is ever good enough. They may believe they are unlovable. We all have baggage (sometimes called emotional wounds), but pick one to focus on for your book or it will get confusing.
   1. THIS IS THEIR MOTIVATION! They might not be aware of it until later in the book.
   1. Raised by a narcissist? You’ll find a people pleaser who goes above and beyond in every task and will always feel like it’s not enough. Always looking for that external validation!
7. Why does the character/s believe they need the goal? This is tied to their baggage. It’s tied to both the internal and external goal.
8. What happens if they don’t attain their goal.? It should be some kind of death: professional, life, relationship, emotional, something so dire that they believe they MUST continue and achieve the goal.
9. What challenges must they overcome to reach their goal? Sometimes they realize their goal is based on a bogus and harmful motivation because of their baggage and they change their goal. This is great. It shows character growth! Typically, there are three major challenges in the story. One around the end of act one, one after the midpoint, and near the beginning of act three. When writing, I like to think of three things that would be absolutely horrific for your character to have to face. I’m typically too nice in the first draft and have to fix it in the second. Sheila has no problem, which is why it’s important to talk to friends/writers about your story. Are you really hammering your characters’ baggage? Be mean, the payoff is a fabulous story.

Do you have these answer for your favorite book?

As a plotter, I answer these questions before I start to write. I figure who killed who and why, and then how the detective will discover the answers. I write a couple of pages, almost like a synopsis, and bring it to my critique group. It gets a thorough critique, and I end up coming away with even better ideas on how to challenge my main characters. Then I start writing. And I still make changes as I write.

However, pantser who understand the mechanics of story, can discover their characters motivations as they write. This is a completely valid way to write.

Let me know if you find this helpful! Leave a comment or email us at AskIGW@gmail.com