Mistakes I Made in Writing My Novel

Learn what NOT to do.

Publishing a full-length novel is a daunting task. Heck, just writing it is a daunting task. Looking back, there are plenty of things I could have done better.

So read on, as I share some of what I learned along the way. Things that might make your road to publishing a little smoother.

Have a Plan

I had a story that had been rolling around in my head for years. When I got ready to write, I just sat down and started typing. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I needed to plan for chapter breaks.

Although I knew my story in my head, I didn’t have an overall outline for it. I hadn’t planned for chapter breaks. I just had a flowing story.

I had to go back and do extensive rewrites so that I could structure my chapters properly and ensure a good transition into the next chapter.

I was so anxious to get started that I caused myself some additional work that could have been avoided with a little upfront planning.

As a minimum, write an outline for your book. Plan your chapters around the story outline. You can always make changes, but this gives you a good roadmap to follow.

As you close out each chapter, remember to set up the transition for the next chapter. This keeps the reader drawn into the story, so they’ll want to keep reading to see what happens.

Additionally, before you embark on your author journey, do some research. Find other books and authors in your genre and see what they are writing. Look up requirements such as word count. The average word count for adult fiction and non-fiction is between 70,000 and 120,000 words. Children’s books and YA books are fewer. Plan your book accordingly.

Avoid In-Story Editing

Each time I sat down for another writing session, I would read what I had written from the last session. This would help to reacclimate me to the story and where I had left off.

But in doing this, I couldn’t resist that urge to edit. I would see mistakes in spelling and word usage and fix those, but then continue reassessing what I had written.

I thought that this would save me edit time at the end. But that just wasn’t true. There are multiple edit phases after you are done writing that cannot be avoided. The in-story editing didn’t save me time, it cost me time each session. Just write your story and leave the editing to the end.

Hire an Editor

Although I did in-story editing at the beginning of each writing session, when I was finished, I did a complete story/content edit and then a complete line-by-line edit. I thought I could do it all myself.

I then gave it to an experienced editor. I wasn’t prepared for the extent of red ink that came back from her edit.

I realized that no matter how diligent you are, as the writer you will miss things if you try to edit. Your mind will just not see them as you are so invested in the story.

Hiring someone to edit will ultimately save you time and frustration. Do your homework. You can find editors at all different price points. If you research, you can find a competent editor at a price you can afford.

Whether you are self-publishing or planning to submit to an agent, having a good, finished product will go a long way in either arena.

Self-Publish or Submit

I planned from the beginning to self-publish on Amazon. So for me, I had some additional tasks, such as formatting and cover design to do. Amazon has good programs that can help with both of those tasks.

Formatting the text portion of the book took some time to get right even though the Amazon software was easy to use.

Additionally, I designed my cover and then used the Amazon software to format and finalize it. When all was done, I ordered an author copy so I could see that the finished product was what I expected.

Don’t skip this step, as there were formatting mistakes that I didn’t see online that showed up in the print edition. Having an author copy allows you to fix any issues before production printing.

If you plan to seek out regular publishing, you will need an agent. Search online for publishing agents that are open for submissions and are looking for books within your genre. Then, follow their instructions carefully for your submission. There are very few publishers that accept straight submissions from authors.

If you are accepted, the publisher will work with you on editing and cover design. But that doesn’t mean you can skip the editing phase. You need a fairly good product to start with if you hope to get accepted.

Just Get Started

The key takeaway I want to leave you with is this.

Just get started.

The time that slips away while you are thinking about it or making excuses is time you could spend working on your book.

Life is short. Write that book.

Previously published in Medium

March 2024