I missed my weekly post yesterday but I'm back today sharing with you the top 5 things I've learned from writing my first book. Hopefully when I share these personal experiences it can shed some light on what it's like for me writing something from beginning to end and help or relate to what other people who write go through.
1. Social media is distracting BLOCK yourself from it! - As I started writing my book I began to just constantly launch google chrome or safari randomly to check Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr from time to time. I realized that it was taking up WAAAAAAYYYYY too much of my writing time. Every time I read a controversial post on FB and comment on it then get so caught up in the discussion afterward that I totally forgot what I was writing in the first place. It would take time for me to get back into writing my chapter again. So after the first month or so I decided to turn off my wifi on my laptop and open it ONLY to do research. That's it. Same with my phone. I would turn the wifi and data off on that as well. I would only answer phone calls. Distractions are everywhere and I know sometimes you can't help yourself - heck even I had to take social media breaks from time to time but I rarely did it while I write. I would do it after I write. It's such a great feeling too because you've worked hard on something for the day then as soon as you're burnt out and feel as though you can't write anymore, you can whip out your phone to catch up on things.
2. NEVER let what others say hinder your decision to write - I know this maybe a given but this was getting on my nerves as I was writing my book. People were constantly telling me that my type of book wouldn't sell, that it sounds absolutely retarded, no one would read it because it included gay and bisexual characters, that I'm wasting my precious time and money. The best advice to myself was obvious: NOT GIVE A DAMN WHAT THEY THINK. It was extremely rare that I came across someone who understood why I was doing what I do. I'm proud to be an artist through and through. Yes I haven't published anything yet but I'm not going to stop until I do. It's that simple. It was hard for me to write sometimes because of the constant negativity that surrounded me. I feel every writer has their obstacles to overcome especially when it comes to others criticizing you when you have nothing to show.
3. Being Patient- This has got to be one of the most important lessons I've learned throughout the course of this writing phase. I wanted to write my book as quick as possible so that I can get it out there. In the midst of my speedy writing I looked back at what I had written and none of it made any sense! NONE! It was like I vomited out words on a page that didn't have any meaning what so ever. It was just there as filler. I know a few of writers who do this. They write out their first draft then edit after but I decided not to do that. If I felt something was out of place I deleted it right away. I would spend a week on a chapter and after finishing writing it I would read it out loud. If something was off or it didn't fit the book I would delete and rewrite it over again until it was to my satisfaction. Even though it took awhile to get use to I started seeing the benefits of it. My chapters were more refined and I liked the story I was building. When I got to the editing phase there wasn't that much to edit other than a few grammar mistakes here and there. From here on out I expect to take as much time as I need with my books and try to stay away from vomit drafts.
4. To be truthful in your writing - I have to admit when I first started writing I caught on with trends. I would research what do people like to read or watch. What's the most commercial thing I can write so that I can easily sell it and make a lot of money. I didn't have anyone back then to tell me otherwise. In fact I had people tell me it was the right way to think. To steal from highly successful books and shows instead of making your own. However I've learned to not think that way because if I just write for the audience or reader then I wouldn't be writing. I'll just be writing some bullshit story because I know in their minds they would approve of it. (The good guys fight the bad guys and triumph in the end) (She falls in love with him and they live happily ever after) These are the types of things I've read in books and seen in Movies/T.V shows all the time. Was it something that I truly wanted to write about in the beginning? Yeah...but that was because I knew there's a better chance of making money off it. After much thought I decided to write the things I was passionate about and that interested me. Instead of being fake and write something that is not in my league. At this point I feel what matters most is the truthfulness of the story. Not making one person overpowering to the next but finding a balance in between. No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws. People do good and bad things in life. I feel that should be reflected in stories. So what I'm trying to say is that I've learned not to bullshit and if it feels right follow your impulse and go through with it.
5. Completing a book is only half the battle - I'm learning this one as I type this. So far after fully editing my book, I've been working on my query for the past 2 weeks then spent the past few days looking for an agent who is interested in it. Granted I know some might be hesitant on reading something that has "VAMPIRE PIGS" in the title but all I need is just one person to read it and believe in the project. I'm glad that some of these agents suggest putting your first chapter in the email even though they probably have tons of emails from other people all I can do now is play the waiting game. While I do that I have to start researching on Self-Publishing but I feel that as a writer who has not published anything it's a bad move. I'm trying to sell it as a series, I'm not exactly sure how I can do that when I self publish. There's this feeling of enjoyment when you send out your query and the first few pages of your book. Knowing all that hard work will be read by someone. That in itself is one of the reasons why I write.
THANKS FOR READING! I hope this helped if you're trying to write anything!
Sincerely,
James Melville
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