Chapter 13: Shadows of Motivation

It really is something, writing a novel.  It’s your precious baby that takes months to finish.  One of the hardest parts?  You have no positive affirmation until several drafts in, when you finally feel it’s good enough to show to your beta reader.  Personally, I’m also a part-time author.  This means even the first draft takes me several months to write.  I worked on my last novel for six months before I gave it to the first of my beta readers.

What does that mean?  Any encouragement is most likely only coming to come from you.  Yes, you have a support group (I hope).  Personally I like to text both my sister and best friend different word count updates literally just to hear back that they’re excited about my progress.  I need to be reaffirmed.  Sue me.  But, is that enough?

Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it.  I’m a full-time student, and if you’re not in my boat I’m assuming most of you have a full-time job.  Either way, whenever I have free time my brain is simply too tired to write.  Instead I always take a nap, watch a show on Netflix (I just finished Parks and Rec in only two weeks), or even read.  Let’s not forget about the social life.  When is the time to write?? Well, it’s there.  For sure.  But I have to create it.

That’s easier said than done.  First, I have to find the motivation to even begin, and sometimes, I simply can’t find it.  I’ve kept track of my word count per day (which I of course plan to share upon this novel’s completion) and let me tell you: there are a lot of ‘0’ days.  I have random spikes where I exceed my word count, and some random days where I don’t even hit 1,000 words.

Now, I’ve always been the forgetful type.  This means that my google calendar is filled with every little thing that I have to do.  My phone reminds me and thank goodness, because otherwise I wouldn’t get anything done.  Then I thought about it.  Why am I not scheduling my writing?  I mean, up until now, I’ve always approached it as “once I finish this assignment, I’ll write.”

Screw that!

I went through my calendar and specifically allotted time to write.  It gives me the reliance that I’ve accounted for the time – instead of thinking “I should be studying” or “There’s still that assignment.”  I know that somewhere in my calendar I’ve allotted the appropriate amount of hours for that shit too!  So when I’m writing, I can be completely present.  It’s been such a simple decision.

But the results?  I’ve doubled my weekly word count.  I’m curious how you get yourself back on track when your motivation hides for a bit?

Chapter 2: Master of Time or Victim of Patience?

Today I’ve been thinking over the biggest misconception of becoming an author: the post-writing stage.  There’s probably two possible reactions to hearing those words: (1) You’re confused.  You weren’t aware that there was much work to be done once the novel’s finished.   (2)  Your skin’s crawling, and you just completely lost your appetite.  Yes, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I think it’s safe to say every author’s pet peeve is someone trying to read your first draft.  As my writing’s developed, my first drafts have gotten better relative to one another, but they’re still complete trash when compared to the final product.  Most of creating a book is actually rewriting.  Some aspiring authors come in with the misconception that they’ll write their book in one go and it’ll come out a masterpiece.

Personally, I go through at least four drafts before I even let my beta readers take a look.  (Quick side note: if you don’t have any beta readers to give you a fresh set of eyes, find one or more ASAP.)  I have three, so there adds even more drafts.  Then, I take a step back for a bit before delving into the story one last time.  The first novel I completed took roughly nine months to complete – appropriate since I considered it my baby.

Once you’re completely happy with your novel, you’re still far from the end of the road.  This is the part that all authors dread.  In the story of our lives, it’s the chapter we wish we could skip, but is sadly so terribly crucial.

I would always suggest to aspiring authors to first try the traditional route of publishing.  First and foremost, agents are a blessing.  Get one.  (I have to add in a disclaimer that you should check their legitimacy.  A good rule of thumb is that if they charge you money for submission, it’s a scam.)  You want someone who not only has shown strong success in the past, but also who shares the same vision.  Having an agent isn’t a guarantee of publishing, but it’s definitely a hugely beneficial asset to have.

Now the elephant in the room: how do you get an agent?  Here’s the word that’ll send dread to your very core: querying.  Writing a query is possibly the most annoying but important step when marketing your book.  I’ll go more into tips and suggestions in a later blog, but right now I just want to emphasize: don’t summarize your book.  That’s a rejection waiting to happen.  Think of the themes and emotions in your story, and use that to drive the query.

The final step that I’ve found myself at is the waiting period.  Agents already have clients and have a lot on their plate in addition to looking for new authors.  What does that mean for us?  We’re at the back of the list.  We have no “author resume,” so we have to prove ourselves entirely on quality of work.  I always waited about one hundred days, with some exceptions.

If you’re like me, you’re going to be checking your email on your phone every five minutes for the first couple weeks.  In order to not torture myself, I started putting a reminder in my phone around the time that the agent is known to respond on average.  Querytracker.net is an excellent source to plan out how you’re going to go about it.  I personally liked to send my queries out in clumps of 4 or 5 agents at a time.

Right now, though, here’s the message I want to really hit home.  I was heavily guilty of ranting in this post, and you know why?  Because, it’s a lengthy process.  Each step becomes its own monster on your To-Do List.  A lot of it involves sitting around with the jitters, impatiently waiting to hear back so that you know what you can do next.

So, here’s my advice: don’t rush.  Word count goals are fine; a common one is 2,000 words a day.  For me, that doesn’t work, but that’s not to say I don’t think it’s a good idea.  I have to schedule my oh-so-very-busy schedule around it, but you do have to make the time.  “Free time” is a nice idea, but so rarely exists in reality.  You have to account for it in your planner.   Don’t be afraid for your draft count to go into the double digits.  This might seem silly, but let the novel fully mature into the masterpiece that it has the potential to become.  Take time with your query; you want it to provoke emotion and curiosity when the agent reads it.  Finally, patience is a virtue you need to work on developing.  And, the best way to wait for a reply?  Write some more.