You know, I'll tell you guys that I'm writing a book, and then you don't hear from me about it for a while; then I'll tell you I'm writing another one.
But it's not that easy.
Books are hard work.
First the idea you have to come up with. You have to come up with an idea that you've never seen before anywhere; and that's never easy. Or have to rework an idea that's been done before in such a way people don't see it coming.
Then you have your own style of writing it. Not everyone has the same writing style - no matter how many times a publisher will say to you that 'this is has been done before' they can't dictate to you exactly how it's been done. They can't tell you that your idea has been written exactly like Stephen King's or Peter Straub's or F. Scott Fitzgerald's. That idea may be similar to any one of them, but it's written in your style and that's what makes the difference.
Then - and here's the hard part - you have to leave your book alone for about a year. Don't touch it, go near it to edit or read it again. Once you have done that, go and read it and see where you've screwed up. Go and see where you can either save it or toss it.
Yes this is a lot of work for probably nothing, but it's all about your work, your time and your style. If you don't want to be a writer, don't put in the time to write a book (or a series of books). This is how long it takes to write a book - and this is before it goes into the agent or the publisher; before you start spending money on getting it put through proofreaders, editors and other people who have never seen your work... people who will help you sound like you but more refined; these are people you pay to get you published.
This is where you start rewriting. Your first book will take between ten to twenty rewrites - because it's your first book and you'll screw up a lot. I know I did. My first book, 'Angie', never saw the publishers because it wasn't worth it. The idea was great, but the story, characters, the world ... it was all cardboard and when I went back to it to fix it? Well, it was too far gone to be salvageable. So, I left it alone and started on my next book. My next book took me fifteen years to write... I had to do some serious research to get it right. I had to travel overseas, read some sci-fi fantasy and get in and collect some books on sword-play and recipe books on what people ate, wore and customs of the Dark Ages (this was a world I never studied at high school because I never studied Modern History; instead I studied Ancient History - silly really). But I loved what I got into. I ended up at Medieval Fairs and enjoyed writing my world.
However, when I finally went to finish the first book, I found my book wasn't finished; and it turned over into a second book - which never saw through to the end of Part One. The reason behind this was because I started writing a sci-fi action thriller right as the sci-fi fantasy one finished... I amazed myself. I went right from the Dark Ages straight into a world of Philip K Dick, where there wasn't a suit of armour to be seen anywhere!
Writing is a great outlet for anything you want to show others. You can take them on your own magic carpet ride anywhere you wish. You're the God of the Worlds you build, the King of your Kingdoms and the very person who can say who lives, who dies, who gets married, who can fly who doesn't and what happens right on these pages.
And if you do it right? Well, that's when the real magic happens.
Anyone can write a book... but it's a matter of knowing how to keep your reader interested in your book, along with yourself, that really matters. The idea is the first hook - it doesn't have to be original. What reels in your audience is how you make that idea fly.
But it's not that easy.
Books are hard work.
First the idea you have to come up with. You have to come up with an idea that you've never seen before anywhere; and that's never easy. Or have to rework an idea that's been done before in such a way people don't see it coming.
Then you have your own style of writing it. Not everyone has the same writing style - no matter how many times a publisher will say to you that 'this is has been done before' they can't dictate to you exactly how it's been done. They can't tell you that your idea has been written exactly like Stephen King's or Peter Straub's or F. Scott Fitzgerald's. That idea may be similar to any one of them, but it's written in your style and that's what makes the difference.
Then - and here's the hard part - you have to leave your book alone for about a year. Don't touch it, go near it to edit or read it again. Once you have done that, go and read it and see where you've screwed up. Go and see where you can either save it or toss it.
Yes this is a lot of work for probably nothing, but it's all about your work, your time and your style. If you don't want to be a writer, don't put in the time to write a book (or a series of books). This is how long it takes to write a book - and this is before it goes into the agent or the publisher; before you start spending money on getting it put through proofreaders, editors and other people who have never seen your work... people who will help you sound like you but more refined; these are people you pay to get you published.
This is where you start rewriting. Your first book will take between ten to twenty rewrites - because it's your first book and you'll screw up a lot. I know I did. My first book, 'Angie', never saw the publishers because it wasn't worth it. The idea was great, but the story, characters, the world ... it was all cardboard and when I went back to it to fix it? Well, it was too far gone to be salvageable. So, I left it alone and started on my next book. My next book took me fifteen years to write... I had to do some serious research to get it right. I had to travel overseas, read some sci-fi fantasy and get in and collect some books on sword-play and recipe books on what people ate, wore and customs of the Dark Ages (this was a world I never studied at high school because I never studied Modern History; instead I studied Ancient History - silly really). But I loved what I got into. I ended up at Medieval Fairs and enjoyed writing my world.
However, when I finally went to finish the first book, I found my book wasn't finished; and it turned over into a second book - which never saw through to the end of Part One. The reason behind this was because I started writing a sci-fi action thriller right as the sci-fi fantasy one finished... I amazed myself. I went right from the Dark Ages straight into a world of Philip K Dick, where there wasn't a suit of armour to be seen anywhere!
Writing is a great outlet for anything you want to show others. You can take them on your own magic carpet ride anywhere you wish. You're the God of the Worlds you build, the King of your Kingdoms and the very person who can say who lives, who dies, who gets married, who can fly who doesn't and what happens right on these pages.
And if you do it right? Well, that's when the real magic happens.
Anyone can write a book... but it's a matter of knowing how to keep your reader interested in your book, along with yourself, that really matters. The idea is the first hook - it doesn't have to be original. What reels in your audience is how you make that idea fly.
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