JP McLean

Writing Addictive Fiction

10 Lessons From Writing a Book

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West Coast Sunset

Following are ten lessons I’ve learned from writing a book.

Three years ago, if someone had told me I’d write a book one day, I would have laughed – not out loud – but I’d quietly question their sanity. Following are ten lessons I’ve learned from writing a book.

Write a book?  Me?  Today, the only person’s sanity I question is my own. Not only did I write a book, I wrote three.  It’s been a long, all-consuming, hedonistic, educational, inspirational, and frustrating experience. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Here are a few tidbits about writing I’ve learned along the way:

  1. I’ve learned how little I know;
  2. I’ve learned that most character archetypes and story arcs have been around since the beginning of time;
  3. I’ve learned the value of a creative story editor and a keen-eyed copy editor;
  4. I’ve learned to love search engines;
  5. I’ve learned the importance of a sense of humour;
  6. I’ve learned to repeatedly thumb the pages of Strunk and White, the Handbook for Writers and The Canadian Oxford Dictionary;
  7. I’ve learned that there are creative, intelligent writers out there who are willing to share their time and considerable knowledge;
  8. I’ve learned that cold/beta readers are indispensable;
  9. I’ve learned how much I love writing;
  10. I’ve been humbled by the generosity of friends, family and fellow writers who share this passion.

I’ve also learned I’m neither crazy nor alone, but that’s a blog post for another day.

Want to know more? Check out How I Got My Start and read the press release published by the Comox Valley Record.

You can purchase all the Gift Legacy books on the Bookstore Tab.

I hope you’ve enjoyed ten lessons I’ve learned from writing a book.

After The End

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An old typewriter sitting on a rough wood table

I’d been writing for months before I told anyone. It would be many more months before I typed “The End” and found the courage to let someone read what I’d written. I say courage because it felt like exposing myself, as if I were admitting I’d developed an embarrassing fetish.

After my secret was out, I felt less guilt about choosing to plunk away at the computer rather than weed the gardens, but where was I going with my writing? When I finished writing Awakening, I went looking for the answer.

It thrilled me that I’d written a book, but what did I do with it?

Most publishers won’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. You have to submit through an agent. My research showed that getting an agent, let alone getting published, was a long shot. Nonetheless, this is how it was done. I researched potential agents, prepared the required submission material, and sent out a dozen query letters.

While I waited for their responses, I began to question the sanity of the process.

I’d already made a considerable investment in time and money: a manuscript evaluation, several manuscript printings, postage back and forth to cold readers, an editor, and cover art.

Did I want to invest more time on the minuscule chance I’d find an agent? And if I got an agent, did I want to wait again for them to sell it to a publisher? And if my agent had the good fortune to sell it, did I want to wait a year or more for them to publish it?

My research also showed that most new authors are paid a pittance, get no marketing support, and being untested, don’t have the negotiating clout to improve their contracts. Some of those contracts include language that makes it difficult to get rights back. Additionally, if the book doesn’t sell well in its first few months, it fades from bookstore shelves.

I don’t begrudge agents or publishers their right to whatever business model works for them.

But is their business model a good fit for me?

The answer is no.

After further research, I decided to indie publish. Because I don’t (yet) have the technical skills to navigate the process, I partnered with a local company. They handle the formatting for hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook editions, and make it available at multiple retailers.

It’s a compromise. I don’t have full control, but I haven’t signed away my rights. Indie publishing isn’t for everyone, but so far (for me at least) the pros outweigh the cons.

I’m investing in me and I’m not finished yet. The second book in the trilogy, Revelation is on the verge of publication, and I’m indie publishing again.

As it turns out, “The End” is just the beginning.

 

Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

End of an Era

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Soozie the wheaten terrierI was all set to post a blog today about what comes after you’ve finished writing your novel, but another ending has taken all the wind out of my sails. It’s the end of an era in our house. Our wee blonde dog, Soozie, aka Pookie, lost her battle with kidney disease yesterday.

Princess Soozie Two-poo Dirty-paws left her worldly belongings behind and headed out on her new journey without us. She will be dearly missed here, but needed to go see what other adventures awaited her in a land where kidneys aren’t quite so important. She expressed her wish for deep dirty puddles to lay down in and minks to chase – she said squirrels would suffice in a pinch. I’m sure she’ll find both … and liver cookies, too.

But first, we suspect she’ll have to serve a short time-out for previous dog-infractions involving her teeth and people. Soon after that though, she’ll be guarding a new fence line and dutifully keeping intruders at bay.  Thankfully, as a result of her extensive travels throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico, she barks fluently in both English and Spanish.

Molly, her half sister, has promised to pick up the slack in the ferocious-beast-in-the-car department and make twice as many dog nose smudges on every possible window surface.  She’s also very grateful to Soozie for leaving all her treats behind.

We brought her home in 2000

Soozie the wheaten terrier and her sister dog Molly
Got the bone. Going Home.

We brought her and her half-sister, Molly, home as puppies in 2000. Soozie was never an “easy” dog, so it was a good thing she had an extra helping of cute.  She was a Wheaten terrier and the runt of her litter.  One of her many nicknames was “The Project” because despite the many and varied training approaches we tried, we never could break her of the habit of running and barking alongside anyone who dared walk, drive or bike along our fence.  Ditto for getting her to step down from nuclear level in the car whenever she saw another dog. Ditto again for getting her to stop chasing anything that moved on four legs.  She stopped when she grew tired of the game and not a moment before.

She never did understand her half-sister’s affinity for coming when called or fetching slippers.  Roll-overs were below her station in life. Occasionally she’d do a pirouette, as if to say, “I could roll-over if I wanted to, but I choose not to.” On occasion she’d deign to beg for a cookie, but only if the cookie involved meat, salmon or poultry – preferably BBQ or smoked.  Even then it was touch-and-go; she’d sniff what was offered and more times than not, walk away.

You were a dog’s dog, Blondie and we’ll miss you terribly.

Thanks to the kind folks at Van Isle Veterinary Hospital. End of an era.

Where do the ideas come from?

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A question I’m frequently asked is where do my story ideas come from?  Truthfully, it’s a mystery. I’m as surprised as anyone that my imagination was responsible for the ideas that became The Gift Legacy.

It’s a process

I’ve come to believe that idea generation is a process. It starts with a seed you may not even know you’ve sown. The process is probably some deeply ingrained human problem-solving skill.

An ape restingApes in sub-Saharan Africa are likely doing the same thing. While they’re busy picking bugs out of their mate’s hair, their subconscious is working out how to keep the elephants from mucking up the watering hole.

For me, Emelynn Taylor and the idea of an unbidden gift were the seeds. New scenes would pop up at the strangest, often inconvenient, times. I learned not to go anywhere without a notebook and pen. I would jot down ideas that grew from snippets of other people’s conversations, or glimpses of interesting faces. Sometimes it would be an ad or a photo that sparked an idea.

Tuck the problem away

Even now, three books in, if I’m having difficulty with a particular scene, I set it aside and move on to write something else.  Sometimes it’s a scene, sometimes it’s a new character, other times it’s a building or location description. The process often shakes loose that elusive idea.  It may take a few hours or even days, but eventually the perfect idea trots along.

The more I wallow in the story, the more ideas come to me.  Scenes that have no logical ending or segue magically sort themselves out while I’m gardening or vacuuming or peeling potatoes.

So though I don’t know where the ideas come from, as long as my imagination is fertile, I’ll keep sowing seeds and harvesting the ideas. I’ll leave it to my subconscious to figure out how the opposing thumb thing could improve my lot in life.

Leave a comment – I’d love to hear from you.

All of my books are available to purchase on the Bookstore Tab.

 

Photo by Jeffrey Eisen on Unsplash