I Wrote a Book...Now What?!

The moment I placed my pen down, closed my notepad and realised, "I've done it. I've actually written a book!"

How anti-climactic it felt, this huge achievement, that there was no fanfare, no ticker tape and, more importantly: no wine, (an oversight that was rectified quickly!). I wanted to cry with joy both at finishing the damn thing and completing it in the most ordinary of places: the sofa.

One of the biggest lessons I learned during the writing process was that the first draft isn't perfect, it's never meant to be perfect. The first draft exists as the progenitor to all other drafts that come. It bears the main crux of what the story is about, who the characters are and where they're going. What I had to work out was how to expand on that story further, flesh out the characters, trim the fat and tighten it up into a real page turner.

I wrote the story I'd always wanted to read; that much is true. My characters were finally free of their prison, I had set them loose to run amok and create chaos in the world I created for them.

From 2012 to 2018, the story took shape:

• 1 name change from Red Sky Dawn to Horizon Skies.

• 37 chapters, including the prologue and epilogue.

• 90,820 words (80,000 original target)

• Three notebooks (I write long hand)

• NO AI

My story has had many incarnations over the years. When it first popped into my head in my mid 20's  it had a very different plot but the characters were basically the same. I used to write on a digital typewriter so the pages were there instantaneously but, life, as you know, has a habit of getting in the way on occasion so I dipped in and out of writing for years before really getting down to it.

Even as a kid I used to write, but I was very plagiarist back then (even though I didn't know it). I once wrote a story called The Secret of Sarah Willow which was directly influenced by the fabulous Wolves of Willoughby Chase but at least I was exploring the ability to write. Who knows, I may return to that story one day and write it from my own imagination and not that of someone else.

I digress...

The biggest challenges came after writing the book. What should I do next? According to my research and other writers I'd connected with via places like Instagram the main consensus was to have a break from the book (Stephen King threw Carrie in the bin) and go back to it with a completely fresh outlook. I hadn't written consistently, and sometimes I'd left it more than two months between chapters.

I had so many questions too!

• How many drafts and rewrites should I do? - as many as needed.

• Do writers get to a point where they think, "That's it, I can't do anymore?" or do they keep going? - I stopped at a point where I felt I couldn't do anymore work on it.

• Should I find an editor first or beta-readers? - editor first.

• An agent or a publisher? (I'm thinking to try for an agent first) - tried both (there will be a blog post on this).

• Is self-publishing better than e-publishing? - Piracy is a huge concern, I've refrained from digital publishing.

• What's a good way of marketing my work? - I've teamed up with a book PR company on Instagram who are running a campaign for me (@lovebookstours) later this month.

It's safe to say however, that, if I ever had a bucket list; then writing a book would definitely be on it and I can happily tick it off.