You've finished your draft, and now you're ready for editing! But wait one second before you jump on the hunt for an editor! One editor cannot read your entire manuscript for all its mistakes, and will therefore focus on one branch of editing. You need to figure out exactly what kind of editor(s) your novel needs! There are many different types of editing and different times at which you will need these edits. Some authors may depend more on editors, while others do not. It all depends on experience, so don't think the amount of editing you decide on for your book determines your worth as a writer! To help you find what type of editing you want, I'm going to describe the general types.
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The blurb is, arguably, the most important part to selling your book. And, arguably, it can be the hardest part to write. However, I have discovered a formula that reads well, and other authors seem to agree: the fishing pole. Like your blurb, a fishing pole needs a hook, a fishing line, and a reel; I explain each section of a blurb for you. Now catch some readers! The blurb not only needs to sell your story, but it also needs to tell your story. Many writers can find writing a blurb frustrating: "how am I supposed to describe my 200 paged novel in 300 words?" Well, this thinking is part of the problem. You don't have to describe everything, not even most things, just the VERY MAIN things.
How do you prepare before you write? Knowing what kind of organizer and planner you are before you write is essential. This way, you will find what works best for you while you're writing. You could organize too much and run out of your creative juices. Or, you could organize too little and not know where to start when you begin writing. How writers prepare before they write generally falls on a spectrum from pantser to plotter. A pantser is a writer who knows a few details and flies with them. They don't like to restrict their writing with too much detail from preparation. The idea of a pantser comes from writers who "fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants.” On the other hand, a plotter wants to know as much detail of their story that they can before they sit down and write. They outline the story, characters, scenes, locations, and maybe even more.
You should discover if you are more of a pantser, plotter, or even a "plantser," in order to most effectively use your writing time. This table should help you. As a young adult, you will face disbelief; this is a fact of life. Trust me, I wish it weren't. But believe me when I say, YOU ARE CAPABLE. If you hear "you're too young for that" or something similar, this article is for you. Young adults are generally stereotyped as naive and braggers, and this can be an obstacle when what we want most as writers is support. But life isn't always uphill, and that's okay! How would you grow if there were no challenges to overcome? Here's how you keep ageism at bay:
Do not sit around and wait for your writer's block to go away. There are many different methods to defeat one's writer's block (like changing the time of day you write or rerouting what you're writing). This post is a list of methods for you to try against your Block. Some may work for you, or maybe a certain combination of things will. Every writer's block is unique. Every writer faces writer's block. How it feels and how to fight it off is unique to each writer and can even be unique to each Block a writer faces. Don't just sit around and wait for your block to go away, instead try these methods until you find one or a combination of a few that work for you.
When you self-publish you put everything into your own hands. Usually, the best way to handle this is hiring professionals. If you're unsure whether to traditional publish or self-publish, consider all that goes into self-publishing with this list. If you're set on self-publishing, use this as your checklist. While self-publishing can be challenging, I recommend it, as the reward is that much better. There is a lot more to publishing than most people think about, mostly because they're things that we look over every day. For example, do you know about the programming that goes into your ebook in order to make it look like a book? On top of programming, there's marketing, printing, formatting, art, and more to a self-published book. Start saving up money for the self-publishing process as soon as you can!
While you can jump "write" in to a writing project, it's always better to outline first. This way, you don't feel lost or lose hope on your idea. There are different ways to approach outlining, but I will share my method of outlining with you. I will also give some general outlining tips to help you outline your piece. Outlining is an important part of the writing process, no matter what type of writer you are. With an outline, you are less likely to feel stuck or lose touch with your work. Outlining may be what you need to finally jump into a writing idea you've been holding onto for ages.
The type of writer you are can affect how you outline, but I argue it always important to outline a work before completing the first draft. As you outline, you can brainstorm your piece's story arc, character development, themes, and more. To help you outline, I will show you how I outline and give you some outlining tips: |
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More InfoErin blogs because she wants to help other young adult writers and new writers. It's aimed to educate others on the writing and self-publishing process. If there is anything you'd like to know that she hasn't covered yet, please contact her! |