Writing a book is a big deal. Much like running a marathon, writing a book has continued throughout the ages to be an ideal concept of hard work and achievement over the long haul.
But there’s a reason writing a novel is on everyone’s bucket list: it’s really hard! If you’re going to make it all the way to the end, you’re going to need a team to help get you there. The right mix of family, friends, and professional advice is key to finishing and getting your
When You’re Getting Started
When you’re first getting started, it’s great to talk with close family and friends who will be invested in your progress. Though you may not feel prepared to share pages with them for a long time (if ever), their continued questions and interest in your writing is a built-in accountability partner for you and cheer you on along the way. They’re also potential people you could bounce ideas off of when you’re feeling stuck. These people should be carefully selected and trustworthy so you don’t feel overly pressured by them, but having a system for support can be exactly what you need to write on days when you are apathetic or busy.
If You Hit a Stumbling Block
Writer’s block got you down? It’s likely that you’re faltering over something simple you can’t quite see because you’re too close to the story. Connecting with writers on your social media platform of choice can be a great way to give you new ways of considering your plot and characters as well as build relationships with others who are engaged in the writing process for commiseration and support. But if you’re still unable to get back on the horse, working with a book coach for just a few sessions can help you get back on track.
Once You’re Ready for Beta Readers
Ideally, building a beta readership should include writers and readers of your genre to give you a fully-rounded idea of moments that need more work as well as ideas on how to fix them.
Biased person that I am, I think Twitter is a great tool for this, but you can find these communities in all corners of the internet. So, choose where you already like to spend your time.
While You’re Editing
For most writers, editing takes twice as long as writing, all told. It can be a frustrating time for authors between the complexity of solving narrative issues you didn’t get right the first time and the inability to feel spurred on by a metric like an increasing word count. An independent editor can help some of these problems if it feels daunting while decreasing your editing time, but relying upon your network of writers is a good option as well!
As You Prepare to Publish
Hopefully you have continued to engage with readers and other writers that you first started connecting with back during your beta read. These people who have already experienced your work can be a great asset when promoting your novel.
Another vastly important team member at this stage is going to be your book cover artist. Choosing a cover artist with the knowhow to make your book stand out and give you visual tools to market your book is key.
The final piece you should absolutely have in place before you publish is your author’s website. This is something you can throw together in a weekend using a template from Squarespace or Wix and be perfectly happy. But if you’re wanting help, you can find a freelance website designer for these platforms too.
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