How I Wrote My First Novel

I wrote my first novel, Rats on Strings, while working full-time at a New York law firm, at times pulling 60-80 hour work weeks. I wrote my other novels while working full-time as well, and most of them were written while I was at that same job. Thankfully, I'm no longer at a law firm, and the last novel I wrote was done while holding down a more lifestyle-reasonable job.

I want to focus on what it was like to get through the first one, and how I did it, so that if you're in the same boat as I was, as in you have an idea but don't know quite how to start or how to get it done, I can tell you what worked for me and you can try it and see if it helps in your situation.

Find an Idea that Interests You
You should have an idea that interests you enough that you enjoy learning about it and exploring it in your writing. It can be just about anything, so long as you care enough to keep going to discover where it leads you. In my case it was a satirical Manhattan in which my alter-ego started a side business selling pet rats to ultra-wealthy New Yorkers, sparking the beginning of a new luxury trend in pet ownership. I explored my real life personal and work relationships in the book by satirizing the characters in my life, and I enjoyed poking fun at the elements of my world that were troubling me. I loved being able to turn to the book and hack away at some real world frustrations by making fun of the ridiculous personalities I encountered in my life.

Experiment to Find Your Best Writing Environment
Try writing at different times of the day, in different locations, with different background noise, and so forth, to find what works best for you. For me, the best time to write is early in the morning and with complete quiet. But that can vary during the writing process and you may need to change up where, when, and how you do your writing from time to time to keep the creative juices flowing. Coffee shops work well for some people. Background noise works well for others. Evenings or late nights after some wine or a couple beers may do the trick. Experiment until you find your optimal state for churning out the words and exploring that concept that you find so interesting.

You can try outlining and see how it works for you. I outlined my first book and a couple after that, but then moved away from it because I found it limiting and constricting. It became harder to get ideas out with an outline looming over me, so I ditched it and was able to write again. I think I'm drawn to the open and unstructured nature of writing without an outline telling you what to do, and I think many others are as well. If you're this kind of writer, you will probably want to avoid goals and deadlines as well, because they may give you quite back writer's block.

Sneak it in and Make it Regular

If you have a demanding work schedule like I did when I wrote my first few books, it can be challenging to find the time to write. You may have to do it early in the morning, late at night, on breaks, or even keep it strictly to weekends or a couple days a week. That's okay. It's not a race to the finish. As long as you can make writing a regular part of your already-packed schedule, you'll complete your manuscript. Consistency is more important than concentrated volume, but there's nothing wrong with the latter, either.

Don't do it for the Money
Yeah...the money thing. My fiction works bring in next to nothing, but if I save up the royalties for let's say 10 months, I MIGHT have enough to pay one utility bill. Just one though. I think when I was beginning to write, I had no idea just how hard it is to sell self-published fiction. It's tough. It may be easier for you, and there are many very successful self-published authors, but if your goal is to replace your income, don't count on it. Do it because you enjoy the process. Do it for the catharsis you get from exploring your ideas on paper and sharing them with readers. When I get an email from someone who loved one of my books and really connected with some of the ideas and feelings I conveyed, that's incredibly rewarding for me. So do it for that connection too. The process, and the connection. If you make anything from your work, consider that an added bonus. 

Make a Passable Cover
I know I'm pretty terrible at this. I'm artistically disinclined, I hope only with respect to the visual stuff... I can't draw a picture to save my life, and the same goes for graphic design. For my first Rats on Strings cover I used a photograph of a rat candle, because I thought it was extremely appropriate given that it was a rat on a string, albeit a wick instead of a leash. I found the candle by accident in a shop, and then I got in touch with the candle maker to ask for permission. She happily agreed to let me use an image of the candle in exchange for a copy of the book. Done! To create the files I used Adobe Indesign, which I no longer use because I stopped making paperback books, and made an extremely simple cover by overlaying text on the photograph of the rat candle. I later updated the cover with a cartoon image.

Currently I use GIMP, which is a free and open source graphic image manipulation program, and I recommend this if you are starting out. There are plenty of tutorials on how to use it online. You can import a stock photo or create your own image and then overlay text and export to an image file when you're done. It takes a lot of trial and error for me, but it can be rewarding when the cover finally begins to resemble what your intent is. GIMP can be downloaded at GIMP.org, which also has its own tutorials. There are a number of stock photo websites where image licenses can be purchased.

That's it for now. I'll add more as I think of things. If you found this useful, please check out my books at the links in the sidebar and consider making a small donation!

Best,
Guy