The anatomy of a book

by | Sep 20, 2017 | On Writing

Let me start by pointing out that this is my process, not others.  However, currently this is the way a book for me is created along with the timelines of development.

Action Timeline Notes
Plot Outline 1 I generally put together a rough plot outline.  This is actual writing time to put it on paper.  By the time I’m ready to write a plot outline, I’ve got a shaky idea of what is going to happen already.  However, writing it down often crystalizes my thoughts.  I’m an exploratory writer though, so what is written in a plot outline and what ends up on paper can be quite different.
First Draft 2,000 words a day I write approximately 2,000 words a day if I’m focused.  For the System Apocalypse books, each book is roughly 90,000 words.  That works out to about 45 days of straight writing.  At best, that’s a month and a half if I don’t hit any writing blocks.
Break 1 week Taking a small break lets me re-read the book fresh.  Often, I’ll be editing or writing a new book during this period.  This break lets my brain ‘reset’ and find gaps in the plot to fill in or to review the second draft.
Second Draft Approx 5,000 words a day For 90k words, that’s approximately 18 days. 5k words is actually a bit conservative here, I often end up getting obesses with fixing things and do more.
Beta Readers 2 weeks I give my Beta Readers 2 weeks to check out the book.  The last time, they all came back to me within 4 days.  Good beta readers are so important – they can tell me if I’m doing something really silly with the plot.  Or they find plot holes for things I forgot about.
Revising 2nd Draft 2 – 3 days Often, there’s a few scenes that need to be brushed up or new scenes to write.  Redeemer of the Dead saw me writing 2 new scenes from comments and rewriting about another half-dozen
Professional Editing Variable.  Often 2-3 weeks minimum At this point, I’m ready to send it to my editor.  I do NOT use a development editor at this time (who offers professional critique of the book’s plot / etc.).  Mostly, they are doing line editing and proof-reading.  I have to book editors weeks in advance, sometimes months.  In Redeemer of the Dead’s case, it’ll take about a month from when they are booked to start
Third Draft 3-5 days Again, this is variable.  The editor comes back with fixes, I go through the document and fix issues.  Depending on the level of editing (and who I’m using), I might get notes about scenes that need fixing which means I’ll be writing new scenes or fixing older scenes.

Now, there are a bunch of things that can happen in-between:

  • Alpha readers might be brought in.  Sometimes, as a writer you have no idea if you’re on the right course.  Alpha readers who end up reading a REALLY rough draft get to check that
  • Developmental Editing is an option that happens after the First Draft (or perhaps even during the course of the book).  I don’t do that because I’m poor and paying $0.08 per word would make the book cost US$7,000 before it was even published.
  • Multiple readthroughs / edits for the 1st / 2nd draft might occur.  I occasionally pull out the book before I send it to the editor for more fixing.  Often this is to fix phrasing / clumsy sentence construction.
  • Writer’s block & burn-out.  Yeah, writing at this pace can be a lot.  So taking a few dysy off happens.  Sometimes I run away and spend a weekend reading and with the family.
  • Work!  I do have a day-job and if that eats up my time / energy, writing slows down.

You can see how writing really varies depending on length of book and inspiration.

 

Again, remember, this is my own process.  It also is evolving constantly.  When I first started writing, there was no plot outline, no professional editing.  It was just write for the fun of it.

Questions? Comments?