I haven't made this overly public, because I'm still leaving myself some bailout, but I've decided to independently publish a novel. Whoa. Well, it's out there now! About two years ago I had this weird idea, this intense feeling of a story. I had characters pictured in my head, a storyline, some twists and turns and I thought, "This is a neat idea." So I opened up a Word document and just started typing. For a long time, that's all it was; words all jumbled together, run-on sentences, grammatical errors everywhere, but I was happy. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning just clicking away at my keyboard, smiling, laughing; I couldn't believe how much fun I was having. I never thought anything would come of it. I just figured it would be a hobby.Two years later and I'm still staying up until wee hours writing, having grammatical issues and smiling. You probably think me insanely lucky, staying home with my kids. I must have tons and tons of time to write. Yeah, not so much. I, naively, thought the same thing. So, now, years and three manuscripts later, I've decided to independently publish. You know, after I finish all the *$#@&* editing. If you are also a stay-at-home parent or even someone who writes after they get off work and on the weekends, here are some tips and advice I follow to help keep myself on track.
1. Write Everyday
Easier said than done, am I right? It's not easy to get time to yourself and to get in the right place, mentally, to write. Here's the thing, it doesn't matter. Get yourself into a habit of writing every day. Even if it's just a poem or you do some editing, anything that makes you use that part of your mind. You need to keep it busy. I don't expect myself to sit down every day and write fifteen of the best pages ever. That's unrealistic, but it's better to sit down and write a few shit pages that you can edit and make amazing another day than to write absolutely nothing. Trust me. Word vomit to the rescue.2. Create a Routine
This has really helped me keep my writing on track. My kids have a pretty basic routine for each day. Wake up, breakfast, play, lunch, nap, snack, play, dinner, cry, bedtime. It works for them because it's consistent. And I figured if I made writing consistent in my routine, it would start to work for me. And guess what, it did. I save all my writing activities for nap time and bedtime. My mind has been awake awhile, I've gotten chores and feeding and cleaning all done, and it's quiet. Well. Besides, you know, the laundry or dishwasher. But there's no one tugging on my sleeve or yelling or crying. It's the quietest it will be. And I have a chunk of about two hours midday and then all evening if I'm feeling inspired. You have to build time into your schedule and commit to it.3. Read
I know this might seem, I don't know, time-consuming? But reading is very, very important to writing. If you don't like reading, what are you doing? Books are the reason you started writing, right? You had this great idea that was maybe inspired by something you read by an author you love. You need to keep reading to keep getting inspired and to see different ways people write. You'll start looking at the words differently, how they're put together, how other authors use them to lead the reader in one direction while the story is really happening elsewhere. How do you get good at anything? You study, and you practice. Reading is how you study; writing is how you practice.4. Save Everything
Yes, everything. Every idea you have, write it down and save it. You never know when it could come in handy. Very rarely do I get an idea when I need it. I usually have to go looking for it. I have a notebook that I keep all my writing ideas in and it looks like a teenager taking notes in English class. It's all very rough sentences, and scribblings in the margins, sometimes it's just a few bullet points. But it's there. When I need it, I'll know where it is. Every time you change something in your manuscript, open a new file and save both versions. Sometimes cutting big chunks can be great for your story and even therapeutic for you, but what if you want that chunk back later? Like on your final edit? Don't lose it. Set it aside. Save it. Who knows, after you get published and become a success story you can use all of it to show others how to go through the process of editing.5. Support
This was hard for me because I didn't know anyone who had published a book. Or so I thought. It turns out my husband's aunt had published a book. Not only that, she had published it herself! What an excellent resource for me! I ended up calling her, and we chatted for hours. She gave me loads of great advice and encouragement. There are tons of indie writers out there. Start looking for them in your social media accounts, going to readings at local bookstores (they love indie writers) and joining writing groups. One of the best things I did was join an online community called Scribophile. You can critique other writer's work and then submit some of your writing for people to critique. I have gotten loads of positive and helpful feedback from people just like me who are trying to make their work the best it can be.I hope this has helped encourage you to make more room in your life for writing. Remember, even if you're busy, it only takes a few minutes every day to scratch out a few ideas. Who knows where those ideas could take you. Enjoy. Happy writing!
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