How did publishing your first book change your process of writing? Share how your writing as evolved?
17 thoughts on “READER FRIDAY: Your First Book – How did it change your process?”
Since publishing my first book, I made three big changes:
1) I bought Scrivener. This makes organizing and editing much easier for me.
2) We sold our house & bought a work-live loft in an artist-only mill conversion. Living among a variety of artists, in addition to writers–painters, collagists, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, a costume designer, jewelry designers, potters–is like living in a creativity camp.
3) When we moved to the mill a year ago, I acquired a small room, with a door I can close, as my writing space. In our house, my writing setup was an open area smack in the middle of the traffic flow between the front entrance, living room and path to the kitchen.
Lots of great changes, TL. I can see how these changes would make a huge difference in stimulating your creative process. Getting a closed door & a dedicated space, that’s invaluable.
Great question, Jordan.
My biggest shift: after years of trying to attract editors and agents, now my focus is on attracting readers. That requires a different mindset b/c you have to get inside their heads and figure out what appeals to them.
I’m meeting with book clubs and their feedback and reactions are gold. Those insights are inspiring me to rewrite portions of future books in the series.
And trust your own instincts, Debbie. Because you’ve got good ones.
I totally agree about the change in marketing to readers. Shifting between the creative and the used car saleman mindset all the time is both hard and against the nature of most of us writer introverts.
It was leisurely writing my first book. After that, I had a contract and deadlines. I went from writing as a hobby to writing as a job, and treated it that way. Now, as an indie, I treat it as a business.
Boy, your comment resonated with me. After I sold, I had to rethink my “pantser” method because I had contracts to fill. I had deadlines & couldn’t indulge in floundering with plots & indecision. Trip down memory lane. Thanks, Jim.
I went from being a pantser to a plotter. vowing never again to rewrite an entire novel three times with a completely different plot line. Now I spend time ahead of time thinking it through to the conclusion
Deadlines (whether self-imposed or by contract) are a great motivator. Thanks, Maggie.
I hardly know where to start…which is how my first book began. I had an idea. Then, fast forward to when I found a great editor. She helped me crystallize the idea after she read some chapters I’d already written. She guided me regarding those mysterious authorish words, like voice, theme, POV, slaying the “ings”, and passive verbs. She hooked me up with some great teachers and told me about conferences, etc.
We worked together on that first book, a creative non-fiction devotional about lesser-known biblical characters, published it, then pushed on to get the second installment in the series done. Then the third. With each book, I knew a little more what to expect. How the dang think works.
Now, I start with the idea, get a few brainstorming gales and rains down on the white screen, think and think and think for awhile, then write the opening. My current WIP is my first novel. Dori and I are in first-round revisions, and I’m loving the process.
And for another current WIP, I tried something new. I wrote a draft of the ending before I’d written the fifth chapter. Doing that completely changed my original ideas of what Annie’s story is about. And having the ending to write toward helped me with scene structure and character arcing.
I have a loose writing schedule now, which includes early morning writing/editing, and afternoon craft study. I read craft books (Mr. Bell included), I’m taking a “Writing Academy” online course, and I get to *gasp* read for pleasure, especially those genres that I love, paying a little more attention to elements of the craft.
I plan to do this: keep learning the craft, keep trying new things, and not give up. It took me *&)%#ish years to get here, and the thing for me is to end well. That means taking the time to listen to folks like y’all, practice what you preach, and work my tail off.
Sounds like a good plan, Deb. Thanks for your thoughts.
I realized that in my early efforts, I was concentrating too hard on *writing a book* (be sure to roll the R in “writing”). Once I relaxed and started telling the story the way I would tell it to a friend–complete with the peculiarities of my own speech patterns–I started selling books.
Great way to describe the process, John.
I call listening to my inner story telling voice – free association. My brain has no filter to my mouth either. Makes it hard to be accepted by civil company but I don’t know many civil people these days. Thank God.
My career never followed the standard pattern of sell the first or second book then write from that point. I’ve also never written a series. I sold my seventh book first, followed shortly there after with my third, then my thirteenth. So, no changes in the writing. Just a shift from only writing to writing and marketing.
I know a lot of writers who still have unsold “books under the bed.” Some of mine will never see the light. Thanks, Marilynn.
Ack! Another reminder of how I missed my deadline on my second book. After I got the contract for the first (already completed) and second books, I spent so much time dazzled that I didn’t start writing right away. So I was late. Ugh.
Now, I meet publisher deadlines. BUT I also have decided to stick with one-book contracts. I’m totally done trying to sell on proposal/outline because of a couple of experiences that (temporarily) trashed my confidence. (Hint: If a proposal/outline has to be edited before the publisher puts money on the table, they’re probably not going to buy it in the end anyway.)
It’s not a process that would work for everyone, but I have to keep my sanity.
You survived, girlfriend…AND learned a valuable lesson. Win win.
I’ve shifted from selling on proposal to having a book done. I like having options to sell or self-pub.
Since publishing my first book, I made three big changes:
1) I bought Scrivener. This makes organizing and editing much easier for me.
2) We sold our house & bought a work-live loft in an artist-only mill conversion. Living among a variety of artists, in addition to writers–painters, collagists, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, a costume designer, jewelry designers, potters–is like living in a creativity camp.
3) When we moved to the mill a year ago, I acquired a small room, with a door I can close, as my writing space. In our house, my writing setup was an open area smack in the middle of the traffic flow between the front entrance, living room and path to the kitchen.
Lots of great changes, TL. I can see how these changes would make a huge difference in stimulating your creative process. Getting a closed door & a dedicated space, that’s invaluable.
Great question, Jordan.
My biggest shift: after years of trying to attract editors and agents, now my focus is on attracting readers. That requires a different mindset b/c you have to get inside their heads and figure out what appeals to them.
I’m meeting with book clubs and their feedback and reactions are gold. Those insights are inspiring me to rewrite portions of future books in the series.
And trust your own instincts, Debbie. Because you’ve got good ones.
I totally agree about the change in marketing to readers. Shifting between the creative and the used car saleman mindset all the time is both hard and against the nature of most of us writer introverts.
It was leisurely writing my first book. After that, I had a contract and deadlines. I went from writing as a hobby to writing as a job, and treated it that way. Now, as an indie, I treat it as a business.
Boy, your comment resonated with me. After I sold, I had to rethink my “pantser” method because I had contracts to fill. I had deadlines & couldn’t indulge in floundering with plots & indecision. Trip down memory lane. Thanks, Jim.
I went from being a pantser to a plotter. vowing never again to rewrite an entire novel three times with a completely different plot line. Now I spend time ahead of time thinking it through to the conclusion
Deadlines (whether self-imposed or by contract) are a great motivator. Thanks, Maggie.
I hardly know where to start…which is how my first book began. I had an idea. Then, fast forward to when I found a great editor. She helped me crystallize the idea after she read some chapters I’d already written. She guided me regarding those mysterious authorish words, like voice, theme, POV, slaying the “ings”, and passive verbs. She hooked me up with some great teachers and told me about conferences, etc.
We worked together on that first book, a creative non-fiction devotional about lesser-known biblical characters, published it, then pushed on to get the second installment in the series done. Then the third. With each book, I knew a little more what to expect. How the dang think works.
Now, I start with the idea, get a few brainstorming gales and rains down on the white screen, think and think and think for awhile, then write the opening. My current WIP is my first novel. Dori and I are in first-round revisions, and I’m loving the process.
And for another current WIP, I tried something new. I wrote a draft of the ending before I’d written the fifth chapter. Doing that completely changed my original ideas of what Annie’s story is about. And having the ending to write toward helped me with scene structure and character arcing.
I have a loose writing schedule now, which includes early morning writing/editing, and afternoon craft study. I read craft books (Mr. Bell included), I’m taking a “Writing Academy” online course, and I get to *gasp* read for pleasure, especially those genres that I love, paying a little more attention to elements of the craft.
I plan to do this: keep learning the craft, keep trying new things, and not give up. It took me *&)%#ish years to get here, and the thing for me is to end well. That means taking the time to listen to folks like y’all, practice what you preach, and work my tail off.
Sounds like a good plan, Deb. Thanks for your thoughts.
I realized that in my early efforts, I was concentrating too hard on *writing a book* (be sure to roll the R in “writing”). Once I relaxed and started telling the story the way I would tell it to a friend–complete with the peculiarities of my own speech patterns–I started selling books.
Great way to describe the process, John.
I call listening to my inner story telling voice – free association. My brain has no filter to my mouth either. Makes it hard to be accepted by civil company but I don’t know many civil people these days. Thank God.
My career never followed the standard pattern of sell the first or second book then write from that point. I’ve also never written a series. I sold my seventh book first, followed shortly there after with my third, then my thirteenth. So, no changes in the writing. Just a shift from only writing to writing and marketing.
I know a lot of writers who still have unsold “books under the bed.” Some of mine will never see the light. Thanks, Marilynn.
Ack! Another reminder of how I missed my deadline on my second book. After I got the contract for the first (already completed) and second books, I spent so much time dazzled that I didn’t start writing right away. So I was late. Ugh.
Now, I meet publisher deadlines. BUT I also have decided to stick with one-book contracts. I’m totally done trying to sell on proposal/outline because of a couple of experiences that (temporarily) trashed my confidence. (Hint: If a proposal/outline has to be edited before the publisher puts money on the table, they’re probably not going to buy it in the end anyway.)
It’s not a process that would work for everyone, but I have to keep my sanity.
You survived, girlfriend…AND learned a valuable lesson. Win win.
I’ve shifted from selling on proposal to having a book done. I like having options to sell or self-pub.
Editing the proposal? Weird.