Now that the Jacob Wonderbar series is wrapped up, I’m very pleased to let you know what I’m doing next: A guide to writing a novel, which I’m planning to self-publish!
I’m incredibly excited to learn more about the self-publishing world, a wondrous land that I currently understand more in theory than in practice. It’s going to be an exciting experiment, and one I can’t wait to learn from.
And I hope to include you all every step of the way. The reason I’m announcing this now is that I’m planning to open things up and blog about every step of the process, from finding people to edit and copyedit it, to designing the cover, to getting it up for sale, to setting the price, to all the stuff I don’t even know about right now but I’m sure will encounter along the way. Are there self-publishing goblins? If you self-publish in the Amazon does it make a sound?
I will soon find out. And then, by the time it’s all finished and out there we’ll have a virtual guide to self-publishing a book too.
The guide is about 90% written, and is a mix of material drawn from the blog but rewritten and polished with a fine glossy shine plus original material. You may have noticed that I have been light on the writing advice on the blog lately, and that is because I have been channeling my energy into the guide.
Also: I need your help! If there’s anything I’ve learned in the course of writing this blog it’s that the commenters are far smarter and experienced than I am, and I’m really looking forward to drawing upon your expertise as I figure out how in the heck one self-publishes a book.
First up in this collaborative experience: Are there any novel-writing topics you would like me to tackle in the guide? If I incorporate your ideas into the guide I will be sure and give you a shout out in the acknowledgements.
Here we go!
Art: Stepan Razin by Boris Kustodiyev {{PD-1923}}
Marilyn Peake says
I just finished reading through the comments and thoroughly agree with Lisa Grace whom I recognize from the Kindle Boards. There are quite a few extremely successful writers on the Kindle Boards, Lisa included. Many have blogs and offer free advice; some have also published eBooks on writing. Hugh Howey, mentioned by Lisa in her comment, is an astoundingly good writer, has recently had some HUGE successes through self-publishing and has a fanatstic blog that's worth checking out.
stv38 says
please write a chapter about first chapters and how to write them.
Christy Luis says
Very cool!
I would love to read any advice on structure. Writing classes and critique groups cover lots of basic, unconnected skills (description, the basic plot arc or “Hero’s Journey,” etc.), but structure is more difficult to cover in a short space. A book with in depth advice on this would be awesome. I agree that “deep pov” would be a great topic as well, particularly deep 3rd, which I’ve heard is difficult.
Best of luck on your new journey!
Saul says
Wish you the best of luck, Nathan. You've always been a straight-shooter, so I'll return the favor and ask point blank: How will your guide differ from all the other craft books already out there? Also, who's your target audience? If it's self-publishers, what about the rest of your followers? I know a lot of your fans are those still looking for a traditional publishing path. Will they benefit as well? My thoughts on that are yes, since it doesn't matter which path one takes; craft is craft.
If you want solid advice on self-publishing, definitely begin with a good craft book (whether yours, King's, Lamont's, Stein's, or any other's), but then get a copy of David Gaughran's Let's Get Digital. Join the community at KindleBoards, where there's immeasurable wealth in experience – both the good and the bad. Finally, explore the best ways to self-promote and market your book. (May I be so bold as to recommend The Essential Book Blog, of which I am one of several contributors?)
Feels strange to be offering you advice. I guess it's just another sign that indie really has achieved a considerable level of respectability.
Elizabeth says
All the input in these comments is great. Mine focuses less on the writing of the novel and more on what you learn about publishing yourself, e and otherwise. Please share whatever insights you can gain about self or e-publishing literary novels. Can it be done? Models for genres exist but wondering if the landscape has yet changed for books that fall outside of those.
Matthew J. Beier says
Congratulations, Nathan! I'm sure it will be an extremely interesting process, coming from the other end of the publishing spectrum. I'll be curious how you feel about having 100% control with your project from the ground up, as it compares to your experience with "Jacob Wonderbar."
Best of luck!
Mary Tod says
Hi Nathan … I imagine you will have APE by Guy Kawasaki for reference. If you're interested in seeing a copy of a project plan I'm developing for self-publishing, please let me know. You can reach me at my blog A Writer of History – although you probably also have my email.
Jessica McBrayer says
Promotion for your ebook. Specifically for KOBO and B&N. There search engines are horrible. Would love to know how to promote and tackle those 🙂
Katie says
Nathan, I am so excited about this. Self-publishing has been very, very good to me and I hope it's good for you too. I wish you the very best of luck.
Patricia Smith Wood says
Good luck with this, Nathan. One piece of advice I can pass along is this: I've had so many positive comments about the fact that the chapters in my book, The Easter Egg Murder are short, no more than five pages throughout. Many are shorter. This is perhaps most relevant to mystery writers, but I can't help wondering if more readers would appreciate that. Just a thought.
Regina Richards says
Cool! Though I've already self-published one novel that is doing well on Amazon, I basically did it without knowing how. I just sort of stumbled around until things worked and was fortunate to have a bout of beginner's luck. But now I'm ready to get serious and really learn the in's and out's of self-publishing.
For me your announcement feels like a case of when the student is ready, the teacher appears. This is exactly what I need right now. Can't wait to learn all I can!
Chris Bailey says
One of the great things about self-publishing is that no one can tell you your book is too long. You'll be able to incorporate all these ideas without multiple print volumes.
From reading your blog, I expect that you'll share some of the best-of-Malcolm-Gladwell advice. Please include something about transitions, as well-scene to scene, chapter to chapter.
All the best with this new project! Can't wait to get my copy.
Anonymous says
Great idea! My novel Reflections is self-published released Dec 2012 and what is difficult to find is an editor/formatter that can make your book look professional. How well do they know the self-publishing market and what will attract agents? It's very difficult to get an agent interested in self-publishing. I am learning query letters are different as well. The best of luck and have fun on this new journey. My cover on my book is beautiful.
Kathy Cyr says
Congratulations! I can't wait till it comes out.
I am a very visual person and would love help on plot/structure/outlining. I'd love to know when the MCs should meet, how far into the story should things really start moving, etc. I like to see things in detail, on paper, before I actually begin writing. Anything would be appreciated.
Christine Califra Schiff says
Dear Nathan,
I fully encourage this endeavor. Your blog posts have been an inspiring part of my writing life since a friend sent me your article on voice in 2010. Your generous and humble approach has helped me a great deal through my first draft and I am now 2/3 of the way through a revision. If I think of anything you haven't covered I will let you know. For now, I'll just say this is great news.
Sharon Forster says
I would love a chapter on creating platform. Would it be possible to include various paths to a great platform? Maybe, round up a group of people who have achieved a substantial platform, starting from zero, and record their stories. (Especially authors who self-publish)
Ben Campbell says
Welcome to the self-publishing sphere. I've had some monetary success ($3,800.00 in 2012) via self-publishing through amazon KDP and smashwords. Read Mark Coker's Smashwords Style Guide for a little extra imput in text formatting. Congrats on the decision, I know all will go well for you. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52
Cathi Stoler says
This is great! Thinking about doing this myself for my novella and am at sea. Can't wait to see what you have to say.
Laurence King says
What fantastic news, Nathan! I am so looking forward to follow your journey 🙂
Keisha Martin says
I am at the stage in which I finally got smart and stopped querying in order to polish my novel and also write few more first draft novel, so I would love a guide that has a chapter on issues within query or first few pages of mss that will cause an agent to not give a second look, basically a what not to do type of thing and then what to do type of thing. YOU ARE AWESOME NATHAN!!! So excited you are paying it forward to writers.
Sally Hepworth says
Nathan, I am so excited about this. What a great idea. I would be interested in a chapter on Creating Likeable Characters – or making them likeable in the editing process. Most writers I know have trouble with this.
Can't wait to buy a copy? How far away is it, do you think? Months?
Lauren B. says
This is fantastic! Can't wait.
For what it's worth, here are the things I struggle with and would love to see covered:
– Voice (particularly when writing in 3rd person)
– Polishing prose during revisions
– Internal dialog/reflection/reaction moments. Basically writing from inside the character's head. How much to do it. How to do it well. Again, especially when writing in the 3rd person.
– Literary/character-driven plotting
– Writing satisfying endings
Madara says
Hey Nathan,
As someone who spent time as a literary agent, I would be interested why you made the decision to self publish as opposed to traditional publishing.
Andrea says
Hi Nathan! This project sounds great and I am so excited to follow your journey! I would be interested in how to self-publish and market to middle-grade readers, as it seems there are a few extra challenges in building a platform since middle-graders are probably not following the blogs and tweeting to their friends what they're reading (unlike YA and Adult). Best of luck to you and looking forward to reading!
Gianetta says
It's like we're trading places: I've already self-published with moderate success and am now embarking on a trilogy which I hope to get published. You never know what can happen, right?
thewriteedge says
I'd like to add my congrats to everyone else's, Nathan. I've learned so much from reading your blog, and I can't wait for the guide to come out.
Here's a possible topic to cover in it: when do you know your novel has become dead weight? Because, let's face it, most of us have written something terrible in our lifetimes, and some of those stories aren't going to get better now matter how much we revise them. So when do we know that it's time to let those novels just stay in the bottom drawer and move on to something new?
Thanks for considering my suggestion, Nathan! All the best to you!
Mira says
Nathan, you just reminded me of how brilliant you are. 🙂
This is wonderful. You're writing two books, and both will be so helpful. What a gift you are giving to the writing community to do this on your blog!
I think you're going to love indie publishing. You'll love exploring all the options and making your usual extremely well-thought out choices. It will be your creation from start to finish, from cover to content to pricing, and I think you'll love that.
And clearly, you'll be getting alot of support along the way, so I think you'll have the best of both worlds – independent with a community.
In terms of your question, a couple other commentors mentioned these, but I have two possible suggestions.
I think an extremely relevant topic for indie writers is: How do you know when your writing is ready for publication?
You also haven't written a post about writing humor. That's sort of a narrow focus topic, but if you wanted to take that on, I'd be interested in what you had to say about that – you write humor very well! 🙂
Really looking forward to this! 🙂
Mira says
p.s. I love your picture.
p.p.s. I really am very, very happy about this! 🙂
Joanna says
I cannot wait to buy a copy. You might enjoy reading Nina Amir's blog: How to Blog a Book: https://howtoblogabook.com and also Lee Steele at Hamaca Press is a gem: https://hamacapress.com/
wendy says
Wow – this sounds exciting. Good luck with the project. I'd like to know more about creating fascinating antagonists. I'm noticing more and more that the best stories have antagonists which aren't painted black or one-dimensionally but are, in their own ways, as interesting as the protagonist. Hoping you will also detail the self-publishing process for us hoping to follow in your footsteps.
Lesley Moss says
Editing and rewriting, especially structural editing, which is difficult to do without an editor.
How to know when the book is done.
Terin Tashi Miller says
Congratulations, Ex-Mr. Agent Man!
I invite you to contact me if you want/need any details/advice from someone who self-published two "literary" novels in the past few years using Amazon.com's CreateSpace.
I was on the verge, actually, of publishing a third when…both self-published novels have been picked up for "traditional" publication by a new publisher based in India.
But my heart is still in "Indie" efforts. Which is also why I'm proud to have both picked up by a new, "Indie" publisher!
Best,
T
Brenda Pierson says
(It's been said before, but here's my two cents…) I'd love to see some content on narrative distance–keeping your POV close to the character, how to decide on the perfect little details to place in the narration to give that extra bit of pop (both for character and worldbuilding purposes), how best to avoid the filler words of "see/felt" and give the sensations a real in-your-face air to them.
I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!
Pat says
Hi Nathan, this is great. Can you take a look at psychic distance, and how to vary it (modulate it?) in a novel without going to omniscient point of view. So, ways to move into and away from the point of view character, to get some breathing space in close first person.
Plus everything everyone else has asked for!
Thanks and good luck,
Pat
Nicole L Rivera says
How do you know when you are "done"? When the project is as good as it's going to get and it's ready to press the send button? Do you ever go back and say, "Drats, missed that."
abc says
Yay! I'm very excited about this! I'm also hoping that there will be a section on tense, because I tend to struggle with this. Sometimes I think that I need to repeat 4th grade–both for the grammar education and for the math skills.
Magdalena Munro says
Fantastic. I'm so curious how your previous publisher feels about this decision but that's none of my business.
What I would love to see addressed is how aspiring authors commit to dedicated writing time when life doesn't give a hoot about the time you have set aside to write. As a full time working mom, I struggle to find time and when I don't touch my WIP for more than four days, fall into a mini depression about it.
Anonymous says
Would REALLY like more perspective and specifics on MG…outlines, how to start and not be overwhelmed.
How to organize projects/ideas/simple writing.
More "real" advice…I can peruse internet and pick up a lot of books with technical jargon that seem written from a MFA course…I want real advice for some one like me (lost, hair-puller, feel scattered and confused).
Thanks.
I really like your MG books and kinda wish you'd share more kidlit talk or blog links, books, writers on your site also! Thanks.
LM Preston says
Well I'm wishing you the best in your journey to becoming a publisher!
Bonnie McKernan says
Self-Publishing topic:
HOW TO OBTAIN CREDIBLE REVIEWS WHEN YOU'RE A NOBODY
Maybe give a heads up as to which review organizations require a look at the book BEFORE it's published (Booklist for example), which review sites charge a fee (Kirkus Indie), and which kinds of reviewers should be avoided.
NetGalley is a great way to get reviews for the biggie sites like Amazon, B&N & Goodreads. Also the book giveaway on Goodreads is a great way to invite feedback…
I would have LOVED advice like this when I first started!
Ben Campbell says
Since you're the media guy you already know about this; include a section on Enhanced eBook technology in your guide to writing a novel. Here's a link to a short article: https://www.quepublishing.com/blogs/blog.aspx?uk=What-you-really-need-to-know-about-enhanced-ebooks I'll be using some of this in my future eBooks although I most write fiction.
Jessica A. says
A section on clearance would be fantastic. Figuring out what names (public figures, brand names, song lyrics, movie titles, hotel names, products, etc) that are 'safe' to use and why was a difficult process for me and my writing partner when self publishing our novels. We ended up changing the names of certain items to be safe, but we could never figure out if it was necessary or not. And all of the research we did online never led us to any answers.
Anonymous says
Structure – how do you structure and if you are a pantser, how do you go back and add structure to all those pages you've spewed out.
birdinabowler says
I'm so excited for this to come out! Not only for the writing advice, but to see how the great Nathan Bransford tackles self-publishing.
I'm especially looking forward to seeing how you handle the promotion of a Self-Pubbed book.
Speaking of, will there be a chapter in your book devoted to what an author can do to help promote their book, even if they have an agent and a publisher who are already trying to promote it?
Jenny Maloney says
I LOVED (and keep coming back to) your one sentence, one paragraph, and two paragraph pitches. And not just for writing queries, but I've discovered if I can put my story into those formats, then the story is pretty set. Maybe a section on knowing your story with some emphasis on those summaries?
Cynthia says
That's a cool idea for a book. Good luck with your plans to self-publish!
I had to think for a few days what I would like in a book about novel writing from you, so I hope you're still checking comments for this post!
Some stuff I'd like to see:
-In general, I like books about writing to have some sections presented in a workbook format with exercises and areas where the user can write down stuff.
-I'd like to hear a step-by-step method for revising effectively.
-Sometimes I hear authors say they had to completely re-write their story or start again from scratch. I want to believe that a WIP showing no promising vital signs can still somehow be resuscitated. But I'd like to know what the signs are that it's time to cut our losses and reboot.
Hope this helps!
Brigita says
Ah, wonderful news and just in time as I'm starting on my first novel. Will be delighted to follow your posts and buy the book. But your self-publishing the book won't be exactly representative of the SP business as everyone already knows you're a fantastic writer with helpful advice to offer so everyone will buy the book. It's a bit more difficult for us, the new/unknown writers. 😉
Fiction Writer says
I'd love chapters on finding the best editor to help get your book in shape and ESPECIALLY on the best marketing tools for selling the book once you finish writing it.
Good luck with the book!
abc says
I'm waiting for a Douglas Adams related post today (since Google informed me it is his birthday). How about a Hitchhiker's inspired writing contest? Flash fiction? Yeah, I kinda like those little contests of yours.
WitLiz Today says
I approve this post. Fourscore and ten minutes ago, I was a self-published author.
Last time I looked, I still am. And I have never regretted sailing on that boat, even though I admit there were times I steered my bad self right into a glacier. But I'm fine now, though I dropped about 50 lbs of ice, and frostbite, or death, is still a possibility with the constant threat of avalanches. But don't let that worry you!
Enjoy, Mr. Bransford. And I wish you great success!