Let Me Share What Shocked Me About the Process of Writing a Novel

A lot of people imagine authors as reclusive beings hunched over a typewriter in the wee hours of the night, trying to weave prose together in such a way as to ignite something in their prospective audience. But there’s so much more to putting words on the page, as I found out once I committed to the writing process.

To be honest, I had a fairly general idea of the steps involved in making a novel a reality. It wasn’t until I started wrapping up my manuscript for Getting By that a few steps caught me by surprise, for better or worse, and I had to quickly adapt on my feet.

Growing With Your Work

Throughout the writing process for my novel, a few things surprised me. First, I didn’t expect how different my final manuscript would read from the initial draft. I, of course, knew there would be changes as I wrote my first draft and that I’d apply tweaks to my story during revision.

But by the time my book editor reviewed my manuscript, I made significant changes I would have never considered in the initial draft. The changes were made for the better, but it’s amazing when I look back on my first draft and see how my writing and story have changed after multiple revisions. I’m experiencing this again as I work through the first round of edits on my second novel’s manuscript.  

It’s Not Easy Getting Seen

It’s also shocking how difficult it is to promote a book. I know that for me, part of the challenge is that I’m very much an introvert. I don’t have a problem putting myself out there to an extent; otherwise, I would make my blog anonymous.

But I don’t like to engage in heavy self-promotion that requires me to really put myself out there, such as doing podcasts, radio shows, live events, book signings, etc. I’m still learning alternative ways to see how I can promote myself without stepping too far out of my comfort zone.

Once I got through the writing process, I found that penning my novel and self-publishing it wasn’t the most challenging part and, in fact, felt relatively easy. But as I learn more about promoting and marketing my book to make sales, it’s become the most challenging part of being an author.

It’s a catch-22: If you don’t have an audience, it’s tough to make any income from your book after its launch, but without writing your novel and putting it out there, you won’t get an audience.

One of the reasons why celebrities can release bestselling books with their first go is because many people are familiar with them, so they have a pre-existing fanbase (which also makes them more attractive to big publishers!). People will not buy your book if they don’t know you exist, so you have to put in a lot of extra effort when you’re a newbie to the publishing game.

Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

After you have made the final revisions to your story and are ready to publish your manuscript, you still need to take additional steps, as there’s more to it than throwing the pages out to the world and saying, “Hey! Read this!”

I was caught off guard by how much work goes into the production side of producing a novel, such as designing the cover, determining your book’s size, figuring out a price, securing distribution, getting endorsements, ordering a proof copy, purchasing an ISBN number, and more!

Producing a book is an ever-evolving process up to its launch, but once you understand all the steps, you can prepare yourself accordingly for the marathon of it all.

Every Story is Different

As I continue through the revisions of my second book, it’s funny that the writing experience doesn’t get much easier. I would never have expected that prior to diving back into the writing process.

Don’t get me wrong: Writing my second book was easier than writing the first. That is likely because it’s a continuation of Getting By, so I have some foundation to work from instead of starting from scratch.

However, it’s still a different book, and writing a novel requires the same level of discipline and stamina, no matter how familiar you are with the material. I still lose the motivation to write and revise my novel at times.

There’re plenty of self-criticisms. I thought things would be different, but it’s not always easy. You’ll still need to have the stamina to push yourself through the writing process if you truly want to see your work published.

A Rewarding Experience (Apparently!)

After self-publishing my debut novel, Getting By, I didn’t have high expectations. I was more concerned about whether I could publish my book because of the time it took me to release it. While writing my first novel, I had two goals in mind. The main one was to publish my book, and secondary to that, I hoped to make some income on the side after launching the novel.

Then, almost a year after its release, Getting By was named a finalist in the African-American fiction category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, which I explained a little more in one of my previous blog posts.

Because of the high competition, I didn’t expect my book would win anything, so I never intended to enter for any awards. But after someone suggested I go for it, I decided to apply. Although I wasn’t the grand prize winner, seeing my book named a finalist was a welcome surprise. Plus, receiving a medal made me feel I was a competent writer and that my story was worth publishing.

Starting to write can be daunting. I never thought I would until I did, all because I had a story I felt the world was missing. But there’s so much to learn along the way, some of it expected and some a pleasant (or unpleasant…) surprise.

I have some pointers if you want to learn a bit from my experiences and prepare yourself for some of writing’s greater pitfalls. I also welcome you to reach out with any questions or track me down on social media.