How to Write a Novel | Write Now Editing

Know What You’re Writing: Novel Lengths

February 4, 2020 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Writing Tip: most agents and publishers will reject a 100,000 young adult novel without ever reading it.

Why?

Because it’s too long. Without reading a word, we know it’s too long. The fact that an author is submitting it suggests a few different things:

The author is too wordy and the book hasn’t been edited for length.
The book has been edited for length and the author didn’t listen.
The author has doesn’t his/her homework to understand the genre.

Let’s take a look at that last one. That one has nothing to do with the quality of your work, and it’s super easy to fix; there’s no reason any author shouldn’t do it before submitting.

Novels in similar genres are never exactly the same length, but there are guidelines that will at least help you get past the literary gate keeps by providing an appropriately sized book for your target market.

Here’s what Writer’s Digest has to say about acceptable manuscript lengths (with a few personal comments added):

Commercial and Literary Adult Novels: 80,000–100,000 words
- 70,000–80,000: might work, but might be too short
- 100,000–110,000: might work, but might be too long
- Less than 70,000: too short
- More than 110,000: too long
Fantasy/Science Fiction (and some historical novels): 100,000–115,000 words
Upper Middle Grade (12+ years): 40,000–55,000 words
Middle Grade (young adult style with middle grade themes): 20,000–55,000 words
Middle Grade (style and themes): 20,000–35,000 words

You’ll notice young adult novels aren’t listed separately because it depends on who you’re targeting. If you wrote a YA fantasy novel with 18-year-old characters that could be read by an adult audience, you can probably get away with 100,000 words. If, however, you’re writing it for the 13-year-old set, you might want to go shorter. The best way to know how long to make it? Check the publisher’s website and guidelines!

Is this list finite and absolute? Of course not, but now you have a good idea of whether or not your 30,000-word historical romance is ready to submit (hint: it’s not, unless you plan for it to be a novella).

What genre do you write? Let me know if you have specific questions about the length of your book!

Novelization or Narrative Retelling?

May 21, 2019 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

I recently read a book that was described as a novelization of a true story. Based on that description, I had several expectations for the story—a structured plot, some character development, incorporating the senses, etc. Instead, I got some history, some explanations, and several chapters of helpful information, but no story.

Overall, the book disappointed me. I wanted to get pulled into the characters heads; to experience their lives with them; to be transported into their homes and situations—everything I expect from a novel. But that book wasn’t a novel, and it never should have been labeled that way.

But, but … it had dialogue! It was written in third person!

Yes, it was, but that doesn’t make it a novel. A book needs to meet certain requirements before you can call it a novel; without those things, you have a creative or narrative retelling, but you do not have a novel.

What does a book need, then, to be considered a novel? Whether you’ve created everything or are telling someone else’s true story, a novel needs:

Plot Structure (three acts work well)
Setting
Characterization (including GMCs and character arcs)
Engaging writing that creates mental pictures

Take all of those, organize them well, and POOF! A novel. If you’re lacking any of these things, you’re probably not writing a novel. How can you tell?

The dialogue doesn’t add to the story; it’s just there.
You have whole chapters of information without showing the characters do anything.
Your book is more about giving information than it is about entertaining the reader.

If the above bullet points describe your book, it doesn’t mean you have a bad book—it just means you’re not writing a novel. These subtleties make a big difference when you’re marketing your book. It’s important to understand the difference, because mislabeling your book (and thereby mis-advertising it) can set you up for failure.

Take the book I recently read: if it had been called a narrative or creative retelling, it would have been a pretty good book. I would have been better prepared for the history lessons and lack of structure. Because I wanted to read a novel, however, it disappointed me. As much as I wanted to leave a good review, I couldn’t because I didn’t have a good experience reading the book (I do still recommend the book, but I tell people it’s not a novel).

Don’t stop writing your book and don’t change your style. Just know what you’re writing so you can get it into the hands of the right audience.

Have you ever read a good book that disappointed you? What happened?

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How to Write a Novel: How’s Your Platform?

October 15, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Have you ever visited your favorite author’s website? Explored her Pinterest boards? Followed her Twitter feed? Those social media accounts are part of that author’s platform.

Why does that matter to you? Because all writers—published and not-yet-published—need to establish and build their platforms.

I’ll be honest: platform building isn’t my favorite part of being a writer. Instead of creating stories or editing my manuscripts, I’m writing blog posts or trying to decide whether or not to share a sarcastic meme on Facebook. But it doesn’t stop there. Social media is about being social, so I can’t just post and share things. I keep checking in to respond to and interact with people who interact with me.

If platform building is so time consuming, why do we do it?

It builds relationships. My husband loves hiking and camping. I didn’t grow up doing anything like that, so it’s not how I would choose to spend my weekend. I’ll go camping with him though because we have a relationship. The things that are important to him are important to me. Something similar happens when an author establishes a relationship with readers: they’re willing to read something different or go to unfamiliar events because of the relationship you’ve developed.
It keeps you connected. When I lived next to my friend and her kids, I bought the kids Christmas presents every year without having to think about it: I saw them weekly, so I knew exactly what they liked. Now that they live thirty minutes away, however, I have to call their mom to ask what the kids are interested in. I just don’t know them like I used to. The same thing happens with your platform. The more you interact with your readers, the better you’ll know them so you won’t have to ask what they like about your stories or what they want to see next. You’ll know because you’re connected.
It keeps you visible. If you can write and edit quickly, you might publish 1-2 novels per year. That’s up to twelve months between releases, which leaves a lot of time for your readers to forget about you and find new favorite authors. If you have an active platform, however, your readers will always know how to find you.
It identifies your buying audience. Before a publisher agrees to publish a book, they want to know how they’re going to sell the book. One place they look is the writer’s platform. How many followers/fans does the writer have? Has the writer even started developing a platform? No one expects an unpublished writer to have hundreds of thousands of fans, but at least having an Facebook account shows the publisher that you’re connecting with and learning how to interact with your audience, and that’s what will help you sell books.

All of that makes sense for published authors, but what about unpublished writers? Why do you need to have a platform if you don’t have any audience?

Because some day you’ll have an audience and you’ll want them to be able to find you. You can’t wait until your book releases because you’ll need to start marketing before then. You’ll want to announce your book contract and share your book cover art when it’s designed—all of that information helps generate buzz and interest in your project, but you can’t do that if you don’t have a platform from which to do it!

That means building your platform now. Here are the three most basic principles to remember as you’re starting this process:

Stick with the platforms you already use. If you don’t like Twitter and have never used it, don’t force yourself to use it for your author platform. Instead, use what you’re already using—if you have an Instagram account, set up one for your writing persona.
Go to your audience. If you’re writing for young adults, check out Snapchat, Tumblr, and Instagram. If you’re writing for senior women, try Facebook and Pinterest. If you’re not sure where to find your audience, search for the most popular social media platforms for that age/gender. (Pew Research studies this type of information and releases their data to the public.)
Be active. Don’t just create a Facebook page. Post to it. Like other people’s pages. Comment on other people’s posts. Share their posts. Comment. Get involved. It’s called social media, so be social!

You can start building your platform at any time, but start it before you submit to agents and publishers. That will show them that you understand the necessity of platform and that you’re already working on it.

Speaking of agents, stop back again in two weeks to look more in depth at the role of the literary agent in your novel-writing journey.

Until then, what questions do you have on platform? Where do you need the most help or encouragement?

My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

How to Write a Novel: You Wrote. You Edited. Now What?

October 1, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

A lot of people dream about writing novels. Some of them even talk about it. Not many people, however, actually have the fortitude to sit down and write 80,000 words. Of those who do, it’s an even smaller number of people who invest in the self-editing and editing process, so if you’ve made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! Finishing your novel manuscript is a big enough reason to celebrate. Polishing it deserves a round of applause!

Now that you’ve created the best version of your story, what’s next? It’s time to think about publishing.

These days there are lots of publishing options. I’m of the opinion that there is no right or wrong way to publish your book, there are just different ways. The best option for you depends on several factors. Today, I’m going to focus on the two broadest definitions of publishing options: self-publishing and traditional publishing.

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing is anytime you (the author) take on the full responsibility of publishing your book, including the cost. There are a lot of options out there and people define them differently – print-on-demand, vanity publishers, etc. The one thing all of these publishing options have in common is that they author foots the bill (e.g. if you’re paying for it, it’s self-publishing).

Who should consider self-publishing?

If you’re an author who wants to be involved in everything – editing, formatting, cover design, scheduling, marketing, and book distribution – self-publishing is a great option. When you self-publish, you get to make all of the calls (which is why you pay all of the expenses). If, however, you only want to write, this probably won’t be a good fit for you.

Why should you consider self-publishing?

This is a great option for authors who write for specific niches, i.e. a city manager who’s written a how-to guide for other city managers. Those books won’t have general market appeal, but the author may have the right connections necessary to sell books.

Self-publishing is also a good option for authors who’ve gotten good reviews on their manuscripts but can’t find a publisher willing or able to take on their books. For example, a modern-day marriage-of-convenience story that’s written well, but publishers may not be sure how they can market (i.e. sell) the book. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with the author’s writing style or voice, but the story doesn’t fit into a publisher’s schedule or brand.

In both of these situations, it’s not that the manuscripts are poorly-written, but the publishing houses aren’t willing to take on the risk of investing money into books that may not recoup the cost. In those cases, the author can take the risk and self-publish.

When shouldn’t you self-publish?

I’ve heard lots of different reasons why authors decide to self-publish, and these are some of the worst:

I’ve submitted to every publisher and they all said no.
I’ve been submitting for a year now, and no one has offered me a contract yet.
The publishers don’t understand my story.
I don’t want anyone to change my story.

What’s wrong with all of these reasons? None of them consider the possibility that the story isn’t ready for publication. Here’s the hard-to-accept truth: if you wrote a great novel, people would be interested in it. Instead of assuming that everyone else in the publishing industry is wrong, put your manuscript away. Keep learning. Then go back and see if there are some changes you can make to strengthen your story.

Traditional Publishing

There are dozens of traditional publishers, from large publishing houses who print hundreds of books a year to small publishing houses who print just a handful of books. Some traditional publishers might have better book cover designers and others will have better connections for distributing their books, but they all have one thing in common – they absorb all of the cost of publishing your book.

Traditional publishers provide some level of editing and/or proofreading, cover design, and distribution. The author does not pay for any of this. The author also, however, doesn’t have much input. Publishers might ask for your opinion, but the decision is ultimately theirs, and you may or may not be happy with everything. It won’t cost you, though.

Who should consider traditional publishing?

If you’re willing to turn over creative control of your story and work on someone else’s schedule, traditional publishing is a good option.

Just to clarify: turning over creative control does not mean the publisher is going to change your story! It does mean, however, that the publisher will edit it as necessary. If the publisher suggests changes to your plot and characters, it’s not because they want to change your story, it’s because your story needs those changes. Publishers aren’t in the business of writing or rewriting stories, but they will help you polish yours to make it the best version of itself (so they can increase their changes of selling more copies).

Why should you consider traditional publishing?

If you don’t know how to run a business and have no desire to learn how to run a business, consider submitting to a traditional publisher. If you aren’t willing (or able) to figure out how to publish a book well, then put your faith in the professionals and trust them to make the best decisions for your book. Otherwise, you might have written the best story of the year, but people will overlook it because of amateur-looking artwork (or they won’t know where to buy it).

There’s no real reason to talk about who shouldn’t consider traditional publishing because, when it comes to this option, it’s not really in your control whether or not you get that book contract. Unlike self-publishing, which you can do at any time, authors have to submit and wait to find out if they can secure a traditional publishing contract. That means it can take years before you find a publisher, but the wait will be worth it if you want to focus more on the writing and marketing and less on the behind-the-scenes decisions.

As you can see, neither of these options is “right,” they’re just different. Only you can decide what’s best for you and your writing career. Just make sure you do your research before you sign anything so you’ll know for sure whether or not you’re working with a respectable, reputable publisher.

My debut novel – Summer Plans and Other Disasters – released September 15! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more updates about my debut release!

Know What You’re Writing: Novel Lengths

Novelization or Narrative Retelling?

How to Write a Novel: You Wrote. You Edited. Now What?

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