Christine Kelly Reads and Writes

You have a book idea? Great!

You actually put fingers to computer and wrote the idea? Even better!

Now you’re going to get published, easy-peasy, right? NO.

I’m going to give you a little story on my entryway into learning about becoming published.

I have always loved story telling (that is for another post on another day). When I became depressed and in the throes of postpartum EVERYTHING, I escaped into books and writing. At first the writing was reflective of my past self- writing about what was or what could have been. And then the writing turned into creating a story I needed after reading a story that either hit my soul and created a gaping hole that needed to be filled…OR… a story that just didn’t hit right and I needed a dose of SOMETHING VERY SPECIFIC.

Enter the “I’m going to write a story and publish it to help me get some more money.”

Can I insert a LOLOLOLOL here? Ok cool. LOLOLOLOL.

First. I wrote a story. I LOVED said story. Looking back at it now…it’s a info-dumpy-telly mess. Will I re-write it someday? Maybe. Was is a perfect way to start? 100%. Because it was a start.

Once I finished, I researched. And once I researched I soon received a wonderful education on the writing industry. Because very rarely do people write a book and get an agent with only a few queries out there. It’s been done (even recently). Or many people already have a platform built in so it creates a built in sales tool that many agents/editors/publishing houses will take a risk on.

All that said, I think it’s important for me to say, I went into this experience completely naïve. Started querying novels (yes plural) well before they were ready (sorry agents). And while the #Writingcommunity is amazingly helpful, there is still a learning curve and the resources aren’t easy to find when you don’t know what you need. And many times there is a urgency to get your story into the world and a “my story is the exception” attitude that keeps one from seeking such amazing resources.

Dear author, you are very likely not the exception (sorry, not sorry), and you should definitely get some eyes on your story before you send it to agents.

I want to preface that I believe my recommendations and what I learned will be beneficial if you are planning on getting traditionally published or seeking to self pub or go the indie route. There is no wrong choice, because you know what’s best for you. But before the book gets into the hands of the world, I think the path to publishing is very similar.

So here are a few things that I was shocked to know needed to happen:

1. You will love your book and think it’s ready for the world. It’s not. Get beta readers. MANY of them. I used Critiquematch.com and found many amazing authors on Twitter (#writingcommunity). Both are free. Bianca Marais does a Beta Reader Matchup about once a quarter. Julie Artz does a CP Meet Cute Cohort matchup. Both with a nominal fee.
2. Educate yourself. This means many different things. It’s learning how you want to be published (Indie? Self? Traditional?). This also means learning enough to answer the question: is my book ready? *This question is a common question that you should be asking every step of the way.* How did I educate myself? There are many ways to learn when you spend money. But I don’t have a large budget to blow $2k on a developmental edit from some amazing editors out there. If you do, I have heard WONDERFUL things. I will post later about all the ones I have found that are wonderful. But I want to tell you now– you don’t need to spend money to learn. The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast is a great FREE resource. Also, many of said developmental editors will have free guides to character arcs, self editing, and more. Golden May are two editors that have great resources (plus paid classes). Julie Ertz has a wonderful Instagram with helpful tips. Also, TWITTER. Ya’ll, I can’t stress this enough. I know adding another social media platform to your list of things to do may be a turn off…but DO IT.
3. Make writing friends. This seems silly, but it is so helpful. Because it will help you learn from their expereinces. Have someone to sound off with when you have frustrations or ideas. And when you all entry the querying trenches together, you can all comiserate that it is hard, but exciting, but sad, yet happy (are you catching on that it’s a roller coaster?).
4. I reached out to an author who I went to high school with. They have amazing books and I was honored they replied when I slid into their DMs (sending another thanks out!). Their advice was the most helpful and I want to say it here too: Read and write. The more you do both, the better you’ll become. And, after writing 7 completed manuscripts, I can confidently say the last 3 are of caliber to edit to query. Each time I wrote a new one, I used what I had learned from my past critiques and stories and applied them to the new stories. And they got better.

I’m sure there are a few things I’m leaving out, which I can address once I do another post. I plan to share the resources I have found to be most helpful and curate a list of free resources as well.

The reason I felt compelled to do this was after I met another author who was excited about finishing their story, but explained how lost they felt when trying to get critiques, learning to query and just generally confused about the process. I by no means have it figured out, but while I am learning, sometimes it’s best to share what knowledge I have gained, because at some point once you know something, it’s hard to go back and recognize what you once didn’t know (that makes sense in my head, so I hope it does to you too).

Please share any other tips you may have. I’d love to learn more and share!