Cover to Cover: From Inception to Publication

gryphonAll good books start from somewhere.

That inkling of an idea sparked by reading a great book, taking an afternoon walk, or even being walloped over the head by the muse. Time passes. Maybe months, maybe years.

You see that idea grow into a story concept, the story concept become a rough outline, the outline become a story, the story become a published novel. Sounds easy, right?

Yeah, don’t we all wish.

When I was approached with the idea of creating a series of articles that followed from that twinkling of an idea to the process of trying to publish a finished novel I thought, “Wow, this will be quite the daunting task.” However, I was up for the challenge.

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One Mistake Never to Repeat

Frustrated WriterDo you know what I did today?

I wrote a hundred lines on little pieces of paper and cut them all out so I can tape them back in a new order. Why did I do this, you ask?

Because I wrote a novel without planning it.

I have scenes that have no bearing on the plotlines. I have characters who only made one appearance or were mentioned and never appeared. I even had a character change age, demeanor and goals halfway through the novel.

So now, I have to go back and do a ton of work to make it all fit together and rewrite the weak parts, whilst cutting erroneous scenes. Not smart. So how to avoid doing this ever again?

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Give Up: You’ll Never Be Published

With self-publishing on the rise, you can now bypass the traditional route, but there are still some of us out there that prefer the “submit, submit, submit” method.

So why won’t you get published either way?

Well, let me tell you, young grasshopper.  It could simply be that you’re not finishing anything.

Here are five reasons why:

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