Quest 1: Decide if you’re Pantsing or Plotting
Have an idea.
Then choose:
Want to just start writing and figure out as you go? Pantsing!
Want to plan out every detail and then write? Plotting!
Quest complete.
Quest 2: Finish First Draft.
Figure out a writing schedule.
Stick to your writing schedule.
??? (usually sweat, tears, and self-hate)
Quest complete.
Quest 3: Don’t share your first draft.
Thinking about giving these out to beta readers? NO.
Thinking about querying agents? NO.
Thinking about having your dying grandmother read this? NO.
Quest complete.
Quest 4: Start your second draft.
Optional Sub-Quest: Give yourself some distance between you and your manuscript.
Read through your first draft.
Make the necessary corrections and changes.
Quest complete.
Quest 5: Repeat Quest 4 until you feel it’s ready.
Repeat Quest 4 until you feel it’s ready.
Quest complete.
Quest 6: Beta Readers
Find other heroes to join your quest.
Hopefully, they are those who you can trust to be honest with you and give you a variety of insights.
Tip: If they’re people you know, they should be people who are comfortable enough to call you a moron if the need arises and have strong enough bond with you to tell you to not waste any more time on your manuscript if it’s horseshit.
Listen to their judgments and insights.
Quest complete.
Quest 7: Another day, Another draft.
Compile all the notes you’ve gathered from your beta readers.
Make a new draft of your manuscript based on the notes.
Quest complete.
Quest 8: Choose your class.
Self-Publishing or Traditional
Class descriptions:
Self-Publishing:
High risk, high reward.
With all the freedom comes with it the burden of fugue
Even the risks are up to the players to decide depending on their goals and investment.
While it’s true that this can be a low-investment, non-pay-2-win class, most experienced players would say otherwise.
Or as Michael J. Sullivan, a notable self-published player, said recently to the question what if you don’t have a day job that you can balance to support this class,
A personal note from the scribe of this quest is that he wished he had around 3500 USD to invest in his first book before starting out. 1500 USD minimum.
The general rules of thumbs are:
- Don’t expect to make much money.
- No one will find your book until you shove it into their hands.
- Write at least three before expecting a profit.
Traditional:
Relatively low risk but still grind-heavy.
The well-established, longest enduring class. That being the case, the progression for this class is clearly mapped out for those who want to go down this path.
Finish manuscript -> Get an Agent -> Get a Publisher.
While the steps seem simple, it can be a grueling and even a life-long task for many to complete the second step of this journey.
As in the name of this class, this is still what the most of the public traditionally consider as a writer and hence comes with it the prestige and network that most self-published authors will not be able to enjoy.
Even the upfront payment by the publisher is probably more money than most self-published authors will ever see with their work.
However, while it is a bragging-right of sorts, often the writers themselves will realize that the payoff of the class is more-or-less may be the same as most of their self-published authors in the long run—if not worse.
Not to mention that more often than not, most writers with publishers will not enjoy a lot of the luxuries that writers assume that they’d receive.
The general rules of thumb are:
- Don’t expect to make much money.
- No one will find your book until you shove it into their hands.
- Your manuscript should be at a point of you not being embarrassed if that gets leaked to the public before you start querying agents.
Quest Complete?
HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!
“Hybrid Author”
Self-Pub, Trad, they do it all. Their success entirely in their hands.
No balance patch will be applied.
Tip: The author mentioned previously, Michael J. Sullivan, always shares his wealth of knowledge having experienced all three classes.
Check out his Reddit Page here: /u/MichaelJSullivan
If that link is there, that means I got his permission to do so.
Quest 9: Do your class quests.
Self-Pub
- Figure out your budget.
- Figure out editing.
- Figure out the cover art.
- Figure out blurb.
- Figure out marketing.
- Figure out networking.
- Figure out where to publish.
- Figure out how to publish.
- Figure out the circumstances of the publishing.
- Figure out any legal matters that need to be resolved before publishing.
- Publish?
Trad
- Find your potential agents.
- Query, Query, Query.
- Sit.
- Wait.
- Found an agent!
- Celebrate!
- Sit.
- Wait.
Quest Complete.
Quest 10: Do it all again.
Do it all again.
Do it all again.
Do it all again.
In my next blog post, I’ll probably go into what my experiences were like.
What I wish I’d have done differently.
And what I want to do in the future.
I’ve done something like that already in the past but given the years it has passed since then, I think it might offer a new insight.
ARAMIRU OUT
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A. S. Aramiru 