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by Patty Apostolides
If you are reading this, then you probably have asked yourself at some point
in your life, "Do I have what it takes to become an author?"
I believe that successful authors, those who actually write and finish that
novel, or book of poetry, or even that book of short stories, and see it all the
way to publication, have certain characteristics.
Characteristics of Authors
1. They like to sit for hours in front of a computer screen (or with pen and
paper), typing (writing) away.
2. They think about their book, even when they're not writing.
3. They are motivated to finish their book.
4. They are motivated to proofread, edit and revise their finished book until
it is the best it can be.
5. They are motivated to publish their book.
6. Once they publish the first book, they are already working on the next
one.
If you answered yes to anyone of the above, then you have a good chance of
attaining your dreams of becoming an author. Don't listen to those people who
say it's a competitive market out there. Don't listen to those people who say
they've written five books and haven't had one published yet. And don't listen
to those people who send you back your manuscripts! Listen to yourself. Listen
to that inner voice, the one that is whispering now. But wait until you get
started. Once your book is written and published, that inner voice will be
roaring! And the whole world will hear about it.
I know, I know. I tend to be the optimist. But we have so many pessimists in
the book business, we sure need some more optimists around!
For you, the novice writer who would like to start writing that first book,
the best way to begin is to start writing. Yes, just sit down and do it. Stop
the other activities, the television, the reading, the shopping, the chatting on
the telephone, and find the time to devote at least one hour a day to writing.
What’s one hour a day in the scheme of things? It comes and goes like this,
poof! What do you have to show after an hour of television? A lazy yawn? If that
same hour was spent on writing, then there would be a product in your hands.
Something that will, hopefully, be shared one day with others.
So, go ahead, shut the door to the rest of the world for one hour (or more)
and make yourself comfortable in front of the computer screen (or pen and
paper). Let’s take the first step to becoming an author.
How To Begin
Foundation
Just like a construction company which builds a foundation to a home, you
also need to prepare a foundation for your career in writing. Don't skip this
step, it's important.
Your "foundation" will consist of basic writing skills. Remember
those English courses you took in high school and college? If you don't remember
anything from those courses, then it wouldn't be a bad idea if you found your
old English textbooks, dusted them off a bit, and looked through their pages to
refresh your memory.
If you haven't taken any courses in creative writing, you might consider
signing up for one. Check with your local community college. They often offer
weekend and evening classes, and sometimes even online classes. If you're on a
budget, then visit the public library and sign out books relevant to writing.
In addition, it would be very useful to join a writing group (online or in
your local area) that critiques your work and gives you the opportunity to
critique also. The group provides wonderful support and an avenue to sharpen
your skills as you gain experience in writing, as well as exposure to other
people's writing. For example, Writing.com is a good example of an online
resource that provides many opportunities to share your writing, and get your
work rated and reviewed. If you want to join a critique or review group, it
offers that also.
The second step to becoming an author, is to have the right tools.
Tools Needed
Besides a comfortable chair, plenty of lighting, and a quiet room, you will
need a computer with a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word), a
printer, and plenty of paper.
Why a computer? First of all, publishers typically will request a copy of
your files sent to them on a floppy disk. More importantly, working with a word
processing program will aid you in many ways towards becoming a published
author. It will provide the opportunity to save your work as a Word file,
without having to use up tons of paper (as with a typewriter). This greatly aids
you in keeping your work organized. It also gives you the flexibility to edit
and re-edit large sections of your work quickly by allowing you to utilize the
copy and paste functions.
Other advantages of using a computer word processing program is that it
provides spell check capabilities, and also helps you count the number of words
per page. In addition, when you want to spice up your vocabulary (For example,
if you like to use the word "walk" alot, and are getting tired of that
word, place your cursor on the word "walk", hit shift F7, and it’ll
give you a list of synonyms you can choose from - like stroll, amble, etc.).
The time saved by using a computer is very valuable. It gives you more time
available to write! Of course, if you don’t have the above materials, don’t
let that stop you from writing that book! Using a pen and paper is perfectly
fine. Books were written with these two basic tools for centuries.
Let’s assume you are using a computer and a Word processing software. First
of all, before you begin writing, form a subdirectory that you can add all your
chapters to. Maybe you know the title of your book already. Fine, then form a
subdirectory using the name of the title. After you finish writing that first
chapter (oh joy!), just save it as Chapter 1 under the subdirectory. If you are
writing a book of poetry, then you might want to save each poem as a seperate
file.
When I write my chapters for my novel, I format them in double space mode,
with a Times New Roman 11 font. All the margins are at least one inch. This way
it will be ready for manuscript submission.
Try not to add your page numbers until the very last revision. Page numbers
constantly change when you’re revising, so wait until the end.
Finally, another reason for having a computer, is for Internet access. As a
writer, you will have opportunities to submit work online for e-zines or poetry
contests. Any chance you can get to write online, do it. As long as it doesn't
take too much time away from your book. It's also a free way of promoting
yourself before the book is even published.
So you need to balance your time in writing that book, honing your writing
skills, submitting your work along the way for others to critique, and promoting
yourself. Can you do it? Of course you can!
The third step to becoming an author is:
What to Write
If you are planning to write a novel, it would help to know what general
category your book is going to be in. Will it be in the romance, mystery, or
science fiction category? If you don’t know, take some time and think about
it. Read some books in those genres. Which books seem to attract you the most?
It’s highly likely that you’ll be writing in the category that you like to
read. My preference is romance because I read those types of books the most.
Once you decide the category, then you are closer to writing that novel!
For poetry, you might start by writing a poem and submitting it to a poetry
journal, or a poetry contest. Gain exposure for your poetry. Join a critique
group so you can sharpen your poetry skills. A chapbook usually consists of
about 25-35 poems. For a poetry book, you'll need at least 60 pages of poetry,
if not more.
Types of Novelists
I have found over time, that there are two types of novelists. The first type
is the writer who prefers drawing up a proposal or plan of what they will write
about. The second type prefers to write whatever comes into their mind at that
moment.
You decide which writer you will be.
Type 1 Novelist
They begin by describing the characters, their names, personalities, and
sometimes their motives. Then they decide when and where the setting will take
place. When will it take place? If it takes place before the 1900’s, then it
will be considered historical. Also, will the setting be in the country, in a
city (which city?), in a house (whose house), on a cruise ship? That needs to be
defined also.
Once those decisions are made, they write brief sketches of each chapter. It
could be a page or two long. Once all this is done, then the real writing
begins. If this method works for you, then feel free to use it. It may take some
time, but you will become more confident about what you’ll write once you go
through this initial process.
Type 2 Novelist
What if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want to spend all that time
writing proposals and character sketches? What if you’re like me, who prefers
to just write whatever comes into your head? Then do it! Sit down and start
writing. Write anything.
As the story develops, something wonderful begins brewing in your mind.
Something called creativity. I’ve caught myself hours after I finished writing
a chapter, and I’ll be preparing dinner, or walking somewhere, and a scene
from my novel will begin to unfold. It’s called creative problem solving. My
mind is working to solve the problem that the writing presents it, even though
I’m not actively writing. When I get those urges, I immediately stop what
I’m doing and jot down my thoughts. It’s helped me many times, particularly
when everything clicks together.
How Long Will it Take?
It took me almost two years to write and find a publisher for my first novel.
For other people, it may take longer or shorter, depending on the amount of time
they allow for writing and how many pages they are writing. I know of authors
that took six, seven, up to twelve years to write their first book. I also know
of a famous author who writes two novels a year!
So unless you begin writing that first page of your book, you'll never know
how long it'll take you to write it. Go ahead, make that first step, and good
luck!
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