Welcome to Self-Pub Saturday! Today’s post starts off this series and is pretty straight forward.
Finish the book.
You cannot hope to publish anything unless you get the first draft done. Bottom line. I know it’s hard. That’s why many people never write a book, even if they want to. Or they started and never finished it. You can’t do anything with an unfinished manuscript, no matter how badly it may be written.
Remember: The first draft will always kind of suck.
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”
-Terry Pratchett
We will talk more about the first round of edits where you will fix any major problems in the next Self-Pub Saturday post, but today we will focus on crossing the finish line!
There are some authors who can put out multiple books in a year, but for the most part, you don’t know their name unless you are already a fan of theirs. This doesn’t mean you can’t write an entire series and release it back-to-back. I’m talking about the Amazon authors who write and release one book after the other. They tend to be very formulaic and predictable, which isn’t something I am a fan of. If that is you, do you.
If you really want to write a unique and memorable story, you need to spend time with it. Understand it. And most of all, think of the characters as actual people. Don’t feel crazy about calling your characters “real” because even if they are fictional, they are still real in your head. They can grow, adapt, die…whatever. If you spend enough time and make them feel real to you, they will feel real to the reader.
Whether you are a plotter, pantser, or gardener (of which I classify myself), your characters are your strongest asset. If your characters are relatable and strong enough, you might be able to get away with a crappy storyline. But you will rarely see a story with a strong storyline that is successful if everyone either hates or can’t relate to the main characters. One of the main reasons I have heard readers say they didn’t finish a book was because they hated the main character and didn’t want to be in their head.
Yes, some stories are written from the villain’s perspective, but the best antagonists are the ones we like–am I right? Especially the ones you love to hate. Not to mention, the morally gray characters we can’t get out of our heads scratch that itch of unconformity that most of us can only dream about.
Han totally shot first, and even if that might not have been the best thing to do, I prefer it over the edited version…no he isn’t a villain, but he sure isn’t some wholesome character without any flaws, yes?
And that is what makes us love him.
All that being said, it doesn’t matter how “good” your story is or how “real” your characters are if you never finish the story. If you think people have issues starting unfinished series, what do you think they would do if you handed them an unfinished book?
FINISH THE BOOK. Then we can talk about what comes next. I didn’t start researching how to do anything else until I got into the editing phase because I knew none of it would do me any good unless I had something to give to people.
For the Outliners.
Find something that works for you. The main two ways to outline are following the 3 Act Story Structure and Save the Cat. You can find a TON of different outline templates online for both, but Save the Cat Writes a Book by Jessican Brody is an actual book you can buy. It started out as a screenwriting guide, but she put it down on paper for us book writers.
I have seen some authors mix the two, which is very intriguing to me, but as I tend to get bored trying to outline, this isn’t my strongest area of expertise. Just find something that works for you. You can use sticky notes, a board with string like a crazy theorist, or a journal. Whatever. As long as it fits how your brain works.
For the Pantsers.
Just write. Whether you start from a vague story idea or have the entire story pieced together in your head, write. One of my favorite quotes is from Steven King, who says:
“A writer’s notebook is the best way in the world to immortalize bad ideas.”
He also goes on to say in an interview I watched forever ago that the best ideas are the ones you can’t get out of your head. Basically meaning, if you forget it, was it really worth writing?
That being said, one thing people have an issue with King is his endings, but even though I am a fan of his writing philosophy, I’m not the biggest fan of his preferred genre, so I won’t comment on that point.
One downside to pantsing a book is that you might end up editing more to fix things that need to be consistent, but don’t let that deter you if outlining isn’t your cup of tea. I edited ‘Blood for Honor’ for years before I even decided I wanted to publish it and all the time I put in made the story what it is today. Don’t be held down by timelines to complete things. That kind of stress is for the traditionally published author. Have fun!
For the Gardeners.
This isn’t a term many people have heard. I didn’t come up with it, but I cannot tell you where I originally heard it. If you have heard it before, drop a comment! I also have an older post specifically on this topic if it interests you. Most of the time you will hear ‘discovery writer,’ where you discover the story as you go, but in my head, it isn’t quite the same. A discovery writer is really a pantser, in my opinion.
Long story short, gardening means a little plotting (even if it’s just in your head), as you would in planning a garden. You get a general idea of what goes where and start planting seeds. Some seeds flourish, others die and need to be replanted, and some don’t like their neighbors and flourish elsewhere, but in the long run, you end up with a luscious garden!
Don’t be afraid to write things down if you need to. I have actually started keeping track of my characters and their attributes over on Plot Factory for one of the books I am currently writing. There is an entirely free version that I use (I am not sponsored to talk about this website, btw) that lets you keep track of things like appearance and quirks you might need to reference later to keep the story consistent. This does save time when you can’t remember something and otherwise you would be relegated to searching the manuscript for facts already established. I see this as a garden journal that I can reference when needed, but it doesn’t necessarily contain any plot other than a note here or there about something I would like to see happen with particular characters.
Remember: just because you wrote something down doesn’t mean you have to use it. Sometimes, ideas evolve into a much grander thing than they would have become if you had been rigid and forced them into something.
Moral of the story is, not everyone is a plotter, pantser, or gardener. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about what works for you. Don’t overcomplicate it and enjoy the journey because you only truly fail if you quit.
If you liked today’s post, subscribe to this blog and follow me on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on my shenanigans. I’ll see you April 19 when we will talk about the first round of edits.
Many blessings,
Emma Lee Joy
Red Hawk Ridge 
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