You Feel Like You’re supposed to Write a book. . .Now what?
Write. . Write. . Write!
Many people come up to me and tell me that they feel they are supposed to write a book.
My next question is always, “Where is it?” Usually the person sighs and says, “I’ve never written it.”
If you feel you’re supposed to write a book. I understand that there are times and seasons, but one can’t hide behind the “it’s not the season,” and use that as an excuse forever. Be sensitive to the timing of God and then flow. I always tell people to put it out on the page and then make it look pretty later. Start the first draft by just starting to flow. Let it bubble up and bubble out of you. Get it out. The glory of living in a modern age is that we can always spell check or fix a paragraph later. People always talk themselves out of writing a book because they over think it too much. Just get it out.
It’s work!
I do not believe in writers block. I believe the majority of times this is simply an excuse.
Make yourself a schedule and page goals. You have a time when you get up, and go to work. Find time that is your time to write, and pending all emergencies you write at that time. I personally have an approximately goal of 10 pages per every time I sit down to work. Sometimes I hit that mark and sometimes I don’t but those are my goals and I go from there. Stop thinking this book you need to write is insurmountable. Think of it as sitting and writing 10 pages at a time. It’s like the old proverb of “How do you eat an elephant?” You eat it one bite at a time. Stop telling yourself you can’t do it, and start telling yourself you can do it! You CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you! (Philippians 4:13)
Criticism isn’t a bad thing
If you are in this industry for any length of time you’ll learn that sometimes turn downs can make you want to cry, and sometimes you will. Listen to constructive criticism. Don’t fight it. Realize you don’t know everything. Writing is a craft. The more you do it the better you get at it. If the first draft wasn’t everything you thought it might be keep working on it. However realize you won’t please everyone because opinions are like noses, everyone has them. Join local writers groups. Take a writing class at a community college. Be diligent in your calling and talents.
Where do I go from here?
So you wrote the next bestseller and don’t know what to do with it. Well, there are many options out there. One doesn’t need a literary agent to get published however one can’t get through to many publishing houses without a good literary agent. The standard literary agent fee is 15% of whatever commission the writer makes. Up front, if any literary agent asks you to give them money, then they are not a legitimate agency. Sadly there are many piranha agents and publishing houses out there preying on the dreams and goals of others. If it sounds too good to be true and you are just out of the gate it probably is. Use websites like google to look up their name. You’ll find out really quick if they are worth your time or not. There is a really popular move to self publish these days verses traditional publishing. I think that they all have their place in the industry and you need to pray and ask God what is best for you and your project. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you do your homework. Make choices out of what you feel God wants you to do, and not out of circumstances.
Building a fan base
When it comes down to it, the publishing industry is just that. It’s a business. Think about who will buy your books, and how they can learn about you. Be prepared that you will have to market this book. Most publishing houses will help you to a certain extent. However it is now primarily up to the writer to market oneself.