In the Aliventures survey, one reader asked for "Things you wish you'd known before you wrote your first book."
To the world, my first book looks like Lycopolis, which I published back in 2011 ... but long before that, I'd written a couple of novels in my teens and early twenties.
I wish that, very early on, I'd known:
1. Books Are a Lot More Complicated than Short Stories
Early on, I thought writing a novel would be like writing a very long short story.. But writing a novel is a much messier process. My earlier attempts would definitely have gone better if I'd done a little more planning and organization before I began.
2. Your First Book Probably Won't Get Published
I'm not 100% sure if it would have been a good thing to know this or not, to be honest! But perhaps I'd have had more realistic expectations of the writing life if I'd known that most authors have several attempts at a novel before either landing a traditional publishing deal or self-publishing a book. I wrote and fully edited two full-length novels, and drafted a third, before writing Lycopolis.
3 ... But You Should Take it Seriously Anyway
It might be tempting to see your first novel (or non-fiction book) as a "practice" or something you're just doing for the sake of it. But if you really want to improve as a writer, you need to take it seriously and produce the best work you can. The first book is what gets you to the second book. Think of it as an apprenticeship.
4. A Small, Consistent Effort Really Does Add Up
This is something I still struggle with (and I know a lot of other writers do, too). It's so tempting to think that it's not worth writing unless you have hours to spend. But with a book-length project, a consistent, small amount adds up fast. Writing 500 words a day may not seem like much ... but that's enough to finish a full novel draft in around 5 months. Even if you can only write 200 words a day, that's a whole book in around a year.
5. Not Everyone Around You Will Be Supportive
It's wonderful when friends and family encourage you and support you in your writing ... but sadly, that's not the reality for a lot of first-time authors. I still remember how crushed I felt, at 14, when I showed the opening of my first novel to a friend who then told me it was "boring". (Tip: if you do want to show your work-in-progress to someone, pick a friend or family member who actually enjoys reading!)
6. It Will Be Worth It
There's nothing quite like the feeling of reaching "the end" of the first draft of your novel ... whether this is the very first time you've written a book or not. You've created something new, entirely out of nothing, and that's well worth celebrating! Whether or not your book is published, and whether or not it finds commercial success, what you've accomplished is huge.
