How To Finally Become An Author

How To Go From Writer To Author

I know I can Be what I wanna be If I work hard at it I’ll be where I wanna be

Old Song By Nas; I can

Dreams.

Nas has it right. You can be what you want to be. Tis a dream many of us have, is it not? To be an author. To have written literature in whatever form it might be written in and publish it to the masses.

But dreams are just that, people say. Dreams. Or…Are they? You can dream the same as everyone else, but how can you make that dream a reality? Will you do what many people do and brush it off as just that, a dream, or something that cannot be done, or that you will never do? Or will you chase it and make it happen? If you are reading this, your answer should be, “I know I can be what I wanna be. If I work hard at it, I’ll be where I wanna be.” (I will link you the song below)

How Do You Do It? How Do You Do That Thing Many People Dream Of But Few Achieve?

Well…just…write. Write all the time. Write stories. I Wrote so many stories, in fact, that I still have many a stockpile here on my laptop, on my data drives, and some on paper. Writing stories should be like planting a vast orchard over many years. Some trees bear fruit. Some will still be budding now. Others will be seeds awaiting the right moment to sprout. Every document, file, and paper will be a testament to the seasons you’ve weathered and the harvests you celebrate.

After realising that, really, you just have to write, the next thing you must do is…wait for it…FINISH! That’s right! You gotta finish it, baby. That seed you’re planting. Yep, that one in your hand. That one that you’re scared to put into the soil and let it grow. You have to plant it. That story, you simply have to finish it. Once you finish it, you’re going to feel…Maybe a little odd. Maybe proud. Maybe tired. Everyone is different, so I can only guess your emotions at the time. But it doesn’t end there…

Let me show you some of my earlier work for this book when I was just writing and had not yet finished.

This is some of my earlier work. Very early draft work. As well as glaringly obvious formatting errors, you’ll likely notice a bunch of things wrong. For example, I used so many tags, such as ‘they,’ ‘he,’ and ‘their,’ without appropriately tagging them by their name. This was bad writing, of course, but it’s what I want to share with you today, and it brings me to my next step on how to become an author.

Just Write. And Just Finish.

Keep at it, and let the words flow right out of you. Don’t nitpick. Don’t worry about all the errors in your first draft. Why? Because that first draft is never ever EVER going to be anything more than a complete mess. Accept this, and continue writing your mess until finally, one day, it will all be there. Yep. One big mess. But you know what…? It’s YOUR big mess.

Such a mess need not be considered negative. Sometimes, we need to conjure a mess so may create order from it. ~TW~

Once you’ve finished editing, the results will be very different. It’s not going to be perfect, of course not, and you shouldn’t expect it to be. Here’s a screenshot of the first page of my book after all of my editing was done. There are still some errors, but, you know what, I did it. I achieved my dream, and so can you. Take a look.

As you can see, even though perhaps you care not a penny for my writing or this story, we can see the improvements when we compare both samples.

Tyler, what’s your point?

My point is to urge you to plant that seed and keep watering it. Keep writing and finish it. When it comes together in that first draft, and it’s complete, you can sit back and look at that sprouting sapling emerging out of the soil. You can then take a rest, but your job is far from over. You are still the mummy or daddy, and now you need to take your eyes off your baby and let it wander a little. In your mind, baby. Let this story swim in your mind a little now you’ve finished. That’s what I did. I left it alone for some days and came back more critical.

Come Back As A Reader

This part is pretty important, and it’s one reason people give up on publishing their work. Because once you come back to your sapling….Guess what? Yep. It didn’t grow. Not one bit, and that’s because something else is missing. Now, your little baby, your sapling, it needs one more thing. It needs THE SUN. THE SUN = YOUR LOVE AND ATTENTION + OTHER PEOPLE’S LOVE AND ATTENTION.

Drafting

Writing is not easy. It comes in stages. Draft, draft, draft, as they say. Take a look at the image below and tell me what you see. Errors, grammar, voice, etc. Put your response in the comments if you know what the point of this sketch is.

Did you see the various errors? Sure you did. The point is each draft you do will reveal an error or something that doesn’t quite make sense. That’s why you have to keep at it. Persist.

Read That Piece Out Loud. Go On.

That’s right. If you really want to know how your writing sounds, you’re going to have to strum up those vocal chords and read aloud compadre. Whatever you write, just read it loud and proud. How does it sound? Pretty? Good? Bad? Ugly? This is the part where you get to really hear what your writing sounds like to others, so this part is quite crucial. This step improved my writing for The Last Tree In The Orchard, and it’s important to do it whenever you write.

So, read it aloud, guys and be critical of yourself. Better yet, have others read it aloud, too. See what they say.

Finally, Once You’ve Got All Of Those Edits Done, It’s Time To Publish.

Now, there are indeed more stages to you publishing your book. You have to do your formatting, decide on a book cover, and fill in other blanks (not to mention some pre-release marketing), but as the writer, this is where your job can start to come to an end. Getting published.

Self-Publish Or Traditional Publisher?

This is a good question and one that only you can answer. Do you prefer to suffer (possibly suffer) the rejection publishers may give you and your manuscript? The rewards may indeed be worth it, but is this something you can endure?

As for me, I self-published. Why? I wanted to get my first piece of work out there. I didn’t rush, but I did learn what to do and did it myself. You can do it all by yourself. Was it hard? Hmm, not really, but it did take a lot of patience to get things right. In addition, marketing your own book is no simple thing, and that’s definitely where a publisher will shine for you.

And that’s how I did it. Simple steps of sewing, planting, and watering. It takes patience, consistency, and passion. But, YOU CAN DO IT!

Now, get typing or writing and slam those words out there!

Hopefully, you enjoyed that read. Better yet, if you like the look of my book, The Last Tree In The Orchard, please click here for the Special Edition

Or, if you prefer KDP click below.

Until next time guys,

~TW~

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