A good novel is a good novel. And it doesn't matter if it's fantasy or science fiction. If you have a good idea, gender shouldn't matter .
01. Gender Matters… Until It Doesn't Matter
A good novel is a good novel. And it doesn't matter if it's fantasy or science fiction. If you have a good idea, gender shouldn't matter .
And it doesn't matter that you've written 8 fantasy novels and are considered a fantasy writer. If you want to write a historical novel or a crime novel, do it. A good book is a good book.
02. The Swamp of Eternal Stench
Starting to write a book is very easy because it's like BOOM! A brilliant idea pops up, dazzles you, and you make a rundown and you can't wait to write. You wear it and your blood boils because it is the best thing that has ever occurred to you.
Problems appear when you have 15 or 20 thousand words. More or less, on page 100. Here the terrain, which was flat and asphalted, becomes a succession of slopes and quicksand. If one of these catches you, bye.
The best way to combat this tedious second act is to dismember it. Think that they are several actors together, with a beginning and an end. Break down the overall action and work with smaller pieces. You can also challenge yourself to write X words per session or per scene .
The issue is getting out of that death trap before it catches you.
03. It's a long journey
As I just told you, writing a book is a long and often tedious journey.
If you don't want to drown or die of boredom, play with the times. Variations will be your oxygen bag. Play with the variations of scenery, character, scene ... Give movement to the text to give you life and not fall asleep.
Don't let your story turn into an ordinary middle-class guy. If at any time your book buys a house in an urbanization ... Burn it to the ground .
04. Go through the maze
Compass, map, rundown, bareback ... Each writer is a world. Each one writes at their own pace. Writing a book is something very personal and your novel will have needs that only you will be able to cover. No one can tell you how to do it.
When you write you are alone. We each have our rhythm, our way of moving forward. When you are in the depths of that forest, listen only to your voice . Let your voice guide you through the process.
05. Writing a book is easy, writing one that can be published is another roll
I have a personal struggle with a novel. It has been written for more than five years. I love the story, I love the protagonist and the antagonist… I even know that it could make a good series of novels… But the sad reality is that it is not a novel that can be published .
Making a chair is easy. I could make one by gluing beer cans and chopsticks… The thing is, no one would want to sit on it… and I wouldn't be surprised.
Writing a book that can be published requires you to put all the meat on the grill and leave behind several corpses along the way. The first novel you write may not be good. The second, maybe neither. But as you write, you will gain strength, you will understand that on each page you must leave a little skin, a drop of blood. Write, read, write more, and when you're done, rewrite everything.
06. We are legion
The Internet is 48% porn and 52% writers. You are not alone, so take advantage of the fact that you are surrounded by writers to feed on them, to let yourself be advised, to read them and to learn.
Create a community, but at the same time, stay away from them. It's okay to get feedback , but don't be convinced . Don't let them change your style, gender, or let them take an idea out of your head — no matter how much that person who advises you knows.
Listen to all the advice, participate in the conversation with the other writers, but always keep your opinion and your ideas above the others. Follow your instincts, because in the end, no one can know better than yourself what is good for you .
07. It all starts with a character
William Faulkner used to say: “Usually everything starts with the birth of a character. That character stands up and begins to walk. All I can do is jog after him, following him with paper and pencil, trying to write down everything he says and does.
If your character doesn't start, ask him:
- What is most important to him?
- What does he want?
- What are you afraid of?
- What do you like to do?
- What do you need?
As he answers these questions, you will see him begin to walk and pick up his pace.
08. Know your space
I've already told you that you don't need to describe every door in detail. But that doesn't mean you don't have to know every trim in that house. Your job as a writer is to know perfectly the setting of your stories, that will give you enough authority to write real scenes.
The setting is like a character and you should treat it as such. Each place has a personality - a beach is not the same as a cemetery. Treat your scenarios like a character, give them life and details. Then save those details for yourself .
09. The time machine
When you're going through the quicksand of Act Two, some of the scenes will be boring. Surely this is where you will be in danger of abandoning the project, new ideas will assail you and they will seem more interesting .
Allow yourself to jump forward in time and space. Leave that boring scene and write another scene that excites you . Then when you've recovered from that boredom, go back and write some more.
If you don't work with an outline, doing this can be tricky.
10. I have written a book, now what?
It would not be bad if, before writing a book, you take into account what you plan to do with it. Do you know what publishing options you have? Do you know what options you have?
As a 4.0 writer you have to do a bit of field work. Nowadays you have it very easy, all the publishers in the world are at a stroke of the search engine. You don't have to limit your options to Spain - or to your home country or country of residence. Publish with foreign publishers if you think you will have better options.
Amazon and self-publishing in general are another great outlet for your texts. If your thing is to fly alone, nothing like self-publishing . You will be the owner and lord of your product and you can do with it whatever you want.
11. The Orchestra Man Strikes Again
Do you think that by having a publisher behind you can relax? Error!
Even with the best publishers, much of the promotion and marketing of your work will fall on your back. I understand that editorial marketing is not for you , that you are just a hard-working writer… But the sad reality is that, without visibility and without a strategy, you are sold.
Many publishers will publish you if, in addition to your manuscript, you show them a marketing plan.
12. The marketing of the miserable
Believe it or not, promoting a book can be done without spending a penny. It's true that a small investment in adds will go a long way, but when it comes down to it, you can create a marketing and promotion plan without spending any money .
From the outset you have many blogs with information on these issues, MOLPE or this blog itself, they have a lot of information on how to promote your book.
I know that in the comments you will tell me that you don't have time. But he who wants something, something costs him. Soak up as much information as possible, learn to sell yourself — not giving much per bag — and spend time on your book. At the end of the day, it is YOUR book and no one is going to treat it better than you .
I also started in all this without knowing anything. I was an unemployed anthropologist who closed a brewery in 2010… I wrote a book… and realized I needed to learn something more… I spent many months of my life understanding how marketing works and now I am here.
13. The largest bookstore in the world
Amazon is the largest bookstore in the world ... And it lets you sell your books there ... Do you really need anything else? Millions of eyes pass through its shelves every day and you have the possibility of being on them.
Self-publishing has changed a lot in a very short time. Today you can print on demand — so you don't have to eat boxes of unsold books. You hardly have to risk anything, as these services are almost free.
14. Become a good partner
Traditional publishers have been trying to get back on track for quite some time. Faced with the change in the publication scheme, they are adapting and that poses several problems for them.
What they look for in a writer, more than a name and a good story, is to find a good partner. Someone you can trust, a solvent guy who can sell X books on his own, without depending on marketing or promotion from publishers.
Understand this as an opportunity for you as a writer. If you are able to move around on social media, create a promotional strategy and get the chestnuts out of the fire, publishers will want to work with you.
We have an example of this in self-published authors who, when they reach certain sales numbers, are usually claimed by publishers .
15. They are just business
Nobody hates you. Nobody has anything against you. The universe does not conspire against you. Publishers are businesses. If a publisher does not publish your book, it can be for many things, including that it does not have a good commercial profile.
It's very unromantic, I know. But this is how things work. Don't hate publishers or editors. Whether you're publishing with a publisher or self-publishing, you're getting into business. Never forget about this.
I could go on and on… And I'd almost hit 100 tips… But I think that's okay. However, I would like to know what it is that you would have liked to know before ghost writing. Who knows ... maybe the next article will be titled: things that you would have liked to know before writing a book, right?
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