Alice Castle has recently released her novel, Hot Chocolate, after being published in Germany two years ago. She has some great tips and advice for starting a novel and publishing it to Kindle.
After going through three agents and being rejected by countless publishers before eventually finding a home for my novel, I think my first bit of advice will be familiar to all parents, and writers too: don’t do what I DO, do what I SAY.
Think of a good, commercial setting for your novel.
Perhaps you live in a lovely English village? Maybe you’re a Londoner? Do you come from an interesting city like San Diego, Paris, Rome? Use your experiences to make the book’s background as appealing as possible. I based my novel partly in Belgium. Yep, not such a glam idea. It makes you think of the Eurozone crisis, a bunch of bureaucrats and, most unpopularly of all, the European Commission. Arg!
Get into a good writing rhythm.
You may want to join a creative writing course (I didn’t) or join a writers’ group for some friendly support and criticism (I didn’t). You should try not to move country, get divorced, move again and do major renovations while editing book number one and starting book number two (I did).
Get a good, supportive agent.
I did this! It really helps. You don’t technically have to have an agent, but it is a good way to get your manuscripts off the slush pile and in front of the right people at publishing companies. Plus many writers, myself definitely included, are better at sitting in a nice, quiet room and pondering than being out there, hustling for sales. I knew I’d be hopeless at pushing my book myself.
I found my first agent by ploughing through the internet, which bristles with useful listings, like www.writers.net or www.writersandartists.co.uk. For this stage, you’ll need a lot of brown envelopes, a stack of stamps, a photocopier and, perhaps most importantly, the hide of a rhino.
Do check what each individual agent you approach requires. It’s no good sending the whole manuscript to an agent who prefers to start with a simple one page synopsis – they simply won’t read your magnum opus and they may well chuck it in the bin for good measure. And remember, if they do take you on, they’ll take 10-15 per cent of any money you make.
Be prepared.
Firstly, for an awful lot of rejection letters. Secondly, for the possibility that an agent will suddenly want to see the whole novel, not just three chapters. So it’s a good idea to have finished it before you start on the agent hunt.
Which brings me to something you should probably think about as number 1 – the tale you are telling.
My elder daughter once came home with a guide to writing a one-page story. It was as easy as could be. ‘Think of a beginning. Think of some characters, decide what they are going to be like, give them names. Write about what they get up to. Next think of how you want the story to end.’ And voila, there you have it! Simple as that.
Of course it isn’t really simple at all. There are many ways to tease a book out of your brain. Graham Greene used to write 500 words a day – he’d stop when he’d reached his quota, even if he was in the middle of a sentence. Keith Waterhouse always had three or four projects on the go at the same time, so that even when he was prevaricating, he was working. Ernest Hemmingway caroused a lot. Virginia Woolf thought a private income and a room of one’s own was essential.
I’d say all these are methods that have clearly worked very well for their inventors. But only one works for me. Sit down. Every day. And write. Something, anything, never nothing. Go on, give it a go.
–Alice Castle, DulwichDivorcee
Alice Castle blogs as DD of DD’s Diary at www.dulwichdivorcee.com and is on Twitter at @DDsDiary.
Next: how to publish your finished book on Kindle.
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DD's Diary
Monday 19th of March 2012
Go for it! A little bit a day for a few months ... And you could be a best seller *and then I'll be the jealous one* :)
Actually Mummy...
Monday 19th of March 2012
Yay! You're a proper published writer! *jealous* I'm so going to do this ...
Louise x
Thursday 15th of March 2012
This is so interesting! I always wanted to write a book but my ideas always stay in my head and hardly ever make it to paper!
Alice Castle
Friday 16th of March 2012
Ah, you need to carry a notebook around with you at all times :) You never know when inspiration is going to strike. Failing a notebook, you can always jot something in your phone's notes mode or on the back of a child's drawing (though exercise caution if your child is a budding Michelangelo). Good luck with it!