ARTICLE: The Humbling Journey of a Debut Novelist

Last week submitted my manuscript (Draft #5) to my initial publishing editor. The subhead said it was "after 3 1/2 years," but I didn't elaborate about that journey.

It has been a three-and-a-half-year journey of learning and development as a debut novelist. But, even more than that. I'm a debut fiction writer of any kind. I do not remember writing any fiction in my entire life. Although, in middle school English class fifty years ago, I may have written some short story that was long ago distributed into the circular file.

Then, on the cusp of retirement, projecting what I could do not just to fill the time in retirement but to make retirement fulfilling and rewarding, I decided to try writing fiction.

It was June 2021, the world was wakening from the 2020 pandemic, and some people had begun traveling. I was one of them, flying to visit my sister in the Spanish Peaks region of South Central Colorado (the photo above is the view from the second-floor picture window of her home).

That inspirational view kicked off my journey as a fiction writer. I spent ten days writing and hiking, hiking, and writing. I came home with 20,000 words hosted in my Google Drive manuscript document.

Over the next two-and-a-half years, I dabbled with adding to the story by writing on other vacations and downtime between my client coaching, consulting projects, and keynote speaking. The manuscript word count exploded to 40K words. But I knew I needed help. My wife, an avid fiction and non-fiction reader and not someone to pull punches and blow smoke up her husband's rear-end, read the story and gave me outstanding constructive feedback. She was right on all accounts. I needed help.

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Months later, in February ‘2023, I invested significantly in joining an international novel writing and writer development program. I put a stake in the ground to finish that first draft within six months. October 1st, 2023, I typed "The End" on draft one.

After taking six weeks away from the story to clear my head of it, I began the rewrites on December 26th. Draft two was completed by New Year's Day. Draft three in mid-February. Draft three's outline and summary were submitted to the editors and my wife for review and comments.

My wife read draft three and provided encouraging commentary about significant improvement from what she had read previously. The editors, too, were kind but direct in the work my story needed. With that input it was on to draft four.

Twenty thousand words into draft four last April, I submitted the first quarter of it to a dozen beta readers, two of whom were my technical advisors on specific aspects of the characters' storylines. With the feedback garnered, I shut down draft four and rewrote those first 20K words in a draft five.

In the 22 months in the fiction writing coaching program, I've transformed my writing at least 100%. Draft five of the novel is 1000% better than the first draft and at least 100% better than the draft three, my wife and editors reviewed. The feedback from a few critical beta readers for the drafts tells me so.

Comments I've received include, "This book is infinitely better than the last draft," "This version was clear, easy to read, and I cared about the characters and what happened to them," and "I think this is a great read. I could not put it down last night."

That's great feedback from the type of reader who will read the final edition. But it's not professional novel editors, agents, or publishers.

Which is my next step. The manuscript is in the editor's hands, and I have six weeks to work on other projects while waiting for the manuscript review report.

This writing journey has been much harder than I thought it would ever be. It has also been challenging, fun, and enlightening. I've learned so, so, much. It's probably the most learning with direct application I've done since college.

By far, the most important thing I've learned over the last 22 months has virtually nothing to do with writing words and sentences or "prose." Although there has been some of that, too.

The number one thing I've learned is that before the words and sentences are considered, you have to get the story right.

What does that mean? It means character development with regard to their motivations and the emotional journey arc from beginning to end of the story. How does the character change, or not? Where is the conflict for the main characters, internally and externally? You also need the right balance of conflict and resolution, domino falling cause and effect throughout.

A phrase I often use with my wife, and she informs me of something she has been aware of but is off my radar, is "Who knew?" And, so I say here, "Who knew"?" all that stuff was necessary for writing fiction. Many, I know. But not someone like me, with absolutely no education or experience in fiction storytelling.

So, to help me keep my eye on the prize of writing a compelling, page-turning novel, I've created a mantra that may be helpful for others, which is:

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"If the story doesn't work, the prose doesn't matter."

There are so many writers I've come across in the coaching program who cringe and cower when it comes to feedback from writing coaches and editors. I embrace it. I crave it.

Feedback, constructive and positive, is nothing more than information. I know my story can be even better than it is now, but I can't see how or what it needs. I need a second or third pair of trusting eyes. I also need feedback on my writing and prose and what I need to improve.

I can't wait for my editor's report and hope it comes sooner rather than later so I can begin draft six that I can finish and resubmit by the end of Q2 2025.

I'm growing as a storyteller and writer, and this novel is getting better, one draft at a time. My confidence is growing. I'm ready to outline my next novel, write a few short stories, and have lots more poems in the works.

My goal in "retirement" as a full-time professional writer is the same as my musical hero, rock-and-roll superstar Bruce Springsteen, who has said throughout his career that when he began, his goal was "more than rich, more than famous, more than happy, I just wanted to be great!"

Thanks for following my journey to become a great writer, or at least as great as I can be, which is all I can ask.

What do you think? How can I be better? In your reading experience, what makes a great writer?

Leave a comment below.

'til next time...

Skip