My hands are beaten, scratched, and sore. That’s what I get for tackling the overgrown tree in the back garden. The bugger was big, and it still is. It has been pruned, but it put up a hell of a fight. The plums on the other tree are rich red and overripe. This years fruit-picking season should probably have started last week, so I better get moving on it because I’m keen to make some more plum gin.
Boy, it’s still hot here in the UK. 34 degrees where I am, which is not usual, but I’m enjoying it. The cats, however, have melted. And while Helen is paddle boarding, I’m drinking a beer and sitting in front of this typewriter as the blue sky looms large in front of me.
I’ve had a few people ask me for writing advice this week. These are people who are starting their literary journey. I’m no expert, but I have experience and I’m always happy to offer advice, or even read some material and give feedback when possible. Friends who do this are rare in the lit industry, so I’m more than happy to encourage the trend of helping out, if I can.
The number one question I’m asked is, what does it take to write a full length novel. It’s a good question.
Fiction is strange. You’d think you can let your imagination run riot, but that’s not necessarily the case. Each genre is couched in reader expectations (conscious or otherwise). There are certain genre tropes with must be included, even if you subvert them, they have to be there. In a western, the cowboys have to ride along the prairie, there must be a sheriff, a whore-house and a gun fight. police procedurals, cozy mysteries, techno-spy-urban, all genres have their own tropes.
Maybe you’ve studied your genre and mapped it out already. What’s next? What goes into actually producing the book? Using Mika Ito as a case study, I’ll walk you through my experience. Mika Ito is my latest work and it drops on the 22nd of September (it was going to be August, but I’ve pushed the date).
Work began on Mika Ito in April 2021. I put in around 3-4 hours writing Mon-Fri. I’d get up at 6am and write before I went off to my 9-5 job. Then, once back home, I’d work on it for a few more hours. On weekends, I’d work 6-8 hour shifts. When the first draft was finished, it was on to draft two. Many, many drafts later, I begin to edit. Come December, I had something to show an editor. Up until that point, it was nine months of writing, drafting, editing, and many sleepless nights figuring out key plot points. The editor worked on the MS, then it was my turn to work through the changes. Then off to the typesetter, and the proofreader. After that, I worked through the changes again. Ultimately, the buck stops with me, the writer, and it’s up to me to go through the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb and sign it off. This is exhausting, and it requires reading and re-reading the entire manuscript many times. Now it’s August 2022, and I’m putting together marketing materials and planning the launch.
Yep, it’s a lot of work. And expense – editors, cover designers, typesetter, proofreaders all cost real money. And you can buy 17 months of work, including the collective expertise of five industry professionals for just 0.99p at launch. The price point seems criminal, but that’s what the market demands, thanks to Amazon. Don’t be surprised to see me raise the price a month after launch, after all I need to pay for the social media ads somehow. So, get it early and get it cheap, would be my advice.
And that’s what it takes for me to produce a book. Some writers can knock out a book in a few months, but not me.
Anyway, enjoy the sun, you sunny people, and stay cool. Don’t forget to check in on the older folks, and the very young, and the animals. And why not leave a bowl of water out in your garden? The hedgehogs suffer in this heat without something to drink, so be kind to them and leave a little water where they can get to it.
That’s it from me. Until next time, take it easy.
Pete
13/08/22. 17:17pm
Thirsty
A bass guitar noodles through the loudspeakers as Tuesday Tony sets up a sound desk on the Thirsty Scholar’s stage. Only there is no bass guitar, or noodles in the air, just a memory of mine playing back in high-def and mixing with the present. The old photograph is still on the back wall, the…
Launch Day
It’s been 18 months in the making, but the day has finally come. Today, I’m launching Mika Ito. It’s now available on amazon in kindle, paperback and hardcover formats. Find it here. It’s the story of Dylan Solly, a British journalist trapped in Japan on the day of the Fukushima disaster. When Dylan collapses, local…
The Parakeets of Kensington Gardens
The Queen’s coffin began it’s journey to Edinburgh today, and massive earthquakes have hit Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia. It’s also the anniversary of 9/11. It certainly seems like a day to reflect. Me and Helen were walking our dogs when the Queen died. Helen checked her phone when we got home and…
Peter Foley Official 