How to Write and Publish Your Book in a Month – or Less
Did I fall and bump my head? Doesn’t it take months and years to finally sniff the ink and feel the pages of your baby?
It can. But it doesn’t have to. You hold the keys to that brand new car. That means you’re the boss. Do you want to park it in the garage and sit in it occasionally? Or take it out for a spin and let the world ooh and ahh at it?
It’s your choice.
I choose to share my fiction and nonfiction babies with the world. And I choose to share with you how I do it. If you need proof… give my method a shot and see for yourself. Ready? Set? GO!
Much of the project to publish a book a month is done…
Granted, much of the general work has been done in my head before I sit down to write. But like the fuel used to buzz around town in the car, that time doesn’t count. The general work that doesn’t use fuel or punch the timeclock is:
- The what if that the story is about
- The setting – the where this story takes place
- The very rough outline of how it will unfold and play out
- The characters that raise their hand and have a story to tell
- The genre
- How many words it will take to tell the story
I’ll use Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid as an example.
- What if the paperwork got mixed up at the hospital-to-rehab center loading dock? And you landed at the Alzheimer’s Care Center instead of rehab…with no cellphone?
- In metro Phoenix, Arizona and the middle of nowhere desert
- What will Sally do? Who will listen? Who are her antagonists? Who will help? How will Sally escape both the center and the city?
- Characters will include caregivers, antagonists, and sidekicks.
- It’s a cozy mystery and adventure – or misadventure
- And need 30,000 or more words for a fast read, feel good novella
Set up the files to publish a book a month
Given the above parameters, I sit down at the computer. I begin with setting up a ‘Sally the Loner Meets the Sourdough Kid’ folder. Within the folder I ready these files:
- Manuscript
- Cast of Characters
- Description
I’ll set-up additional publication files when the manuscript is finalized.
Any characters who made appearances previously are copied and dropped into the Cast of Characters file for continuity. This is where a Master File of Characters comes in handy. And here is the program I use to create and maintain my Master File of Characters. I’m so pleased with the Plottr app that I have affiliated with the company to make it easier for you to ferret out. Click on this Plottr link to see for yourself and to buy me a cup of coffee if you decide it will work great for you, too.
But back to the Cast of Characters for this book.
One is Joan Freed, the rebel life coach niece of Sally. Another is Jenny Crawford, Joan’s sidekick friend with her trusty six-gun. And Jenny’s polka dot rescue Chihuahua, Patches, and so on…
Write the Description
I begin with writing the description. It will change, I guarantee, but the description steers through the conglomeration of events to stay roughly on track.
It’s time to dive into the manuscript.
Next comes the story…
First the front matter, leaving the dedication blank until the book is complete. Also inserting pagination and headers because I’ve been known to forget that detail. It’s embarrassing.
If I write 2,000 words a day – 1-2 chapters – the draft will be ready to cool for the first edit in two weeks. I use the minimum 3-day cool down time to create a cover and prepare promotional materials.
Now the Edits…
After the first edit, I get right to the grammar and readability edit with Hemingway. There are several other options for grammar and readability like Grammarly and ProWriter. But I find Hemingway to be the simplest and most streamlined for me.
I copy and paste the manuscript one chapter at a time into Hemingway; make any changes to the manuscript itself, not the chapter being scrutinized in Hemingway; and proceed with the next chapter. I’m not reading the story. I’m looking for hard-to-read sentences and overuse of adverbs or passive words.
An important note about editor apps!
Your editor app may not alert you to missing quotes. And definitely will not flag muddied speakers names. Be sure to clarify who is speaking! Dialogue without identifying who is speaking is confusing.
I once pulled down a book to rewrite and republish as a new and different book because of a 3-star review that was caused by missing quotes and unclear speakers. The reviewer liked the story but found it difficult to read.
The third and final edit – the one that I approach from a fresh reader’s eyes – comes after another cooling off period.
When all the Edits are complete…
- Rewrite the description
- Fill in the dedication
- Add the backmatter
- Format the print file
- Upload the eBook and print files to Amazon and D2D
Finished! You’ve proven you can publish a book a month.
Voila! Finished within a month! Rinse and repeat for the magical experience of achievement.
But just one more thing…
Yes, there is still work to be done. Work like creating the narrator version and so on. But that’s fodder for another post. I declare this one done!
As always, email me here with your questions and pleasant thoughts.
In the meantime, get going on your baby! Daylight’s burnin’!
Happy Trails and Tales….
You might also like…
