This week, I saw a facebook post that mentioned that there
was a difference between writing a book and writing a book that is under
contract. As an unpublished author, I’d
heard that writing a book under contract posed different challenges. But unpublished me didn’t really understand
how different those challenges would be.
I mean—the book still has a beginning, middle and end filled with plot
and characters. The mechanics are the
same. Right?
Yes.
And no.
Now that I have been under contract for a while, I can say
that writing a book and writing a book under contract are more different than I
ever imagined. Here are three of the
reasons why.
1) The
deadline—As an unpublished author, I approached writing as if it were my job,
because that is what I hoped it would one day be. It wasn’t just a hobby that I tinkered with
when I was inspired. While writing a
novel, I wrote ever day until I hit The End.
Then I went back and polished and rewrote the book until it was the best
writing I could produce at that time. By
the time I wrote Skating Around the Law, I knew that I could produce a
manuscript in about 3-4 months. Which is
probably why it never occurred to me to be concerned with deadlines. I mean, most established authors I knew publish
an average of 1-2 books a year. With the
writing habits I’d established, I figured deadlines would never be an issue.
HA!
First of all, no matter how quickly you write, a deadline is a source of
pride and terror. Pride that there is a
contract proving that an editor wants the book you are writing. You are getting paid for your writing! This is now a job. Terror because you are now getting paid for
your writing and it is now a job with an expectation that the book will be done
by a specific date. No matter how
disciplined you are at your writing, the first time you have a “must be
completed by date” assigned to you stress will descend. It doesn’t matter how many books you’ve
completed or how quickly – THIS book feels different. You worry that because it feels different to
have a deadline, you may not be able to write as quickly as you have in the
past. The writing might suck and your
rewrites might take longer. The feeling that
this book might not get done is always there as you sit at the keyboard.
Deadlines are wonderful because
they mark you as a professional writer, but the worry that you might not be
professional enough has wrecked havoc with writers through all stages of their
career.
2) The
check—Getting money for a book before the book is written is another wonderful
thing. No matter how small or large the
check, receiving the money is tangible proof that someone actually likes your
writing. It’s a huge confidence boost,
but cashing the check is also tangible proof of your commitment to approaching
your writing as a job. The knowledge
that you have been paid for something someone has never seen can be both wonderful
and frightening. What if they regret
sending you that check? What if they hate
the book? When a completed manuscript
sells, the author is confident the editor likes the book. They wouldn’t have purchased it
otherwise. But writing a book that was
put under contract before completion brings with it a whole new host of doubts,
which makes sitting at the keyboard and typing with complete abandon trickier
than it was before.
Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but
the higher the check amount, the higher my anxiety about the contracted project
goes up. Writing a book valued at an
advance of $5,000 feels a whole lot different than one valued higher. The expectations I have of myself rise as the
number of zeros increases. (Note -I have
never been paid 6 figures for 1 book, so I’m not talking J.K. Rowling money
here, but still!!!!)
3) Readers—now
that you are under contract, you are no longer writing for yourself. While every writer hopes that the mythical
creatures known as readers will some day purchase their book from a store or
download it onto their E-reader, the audience the unpublished author is
primarily writing for is an audience of 1 – themselves. Writing a book under contract means that this
book you are writing will be in bookstores and on e-shelves. Readers will be able to read it. Suddenly, each word that you type means more
than it once did because it doesn’t just belong to you. It belongs to them. And that distinction can make all the
difference in the world.
Once I started down the writing path, being paid to write a
book that was already under contract was a dream of mine. To me, knowing that an editor and publisher
believed in me enough to buy work sight unseen was a sign that I had earned the
right to think of myself as an author. (It
took several manuscripts for me to even admit to friends that I was a writer,
so calling myself an author took a bit more doing.) This year, I have completed and turned in 3
under contract manuscripts. The
mechanics of writing get easier with practice, but the personal pressures that
come with contracted books makes them each a very different challenge. I’m thrilled I’ve been given the chance to
learn what writing under deadline feels like and as I write on my current
project, I hope that I meet the expectations that have been set for it by both
me, my agent and my editor. And if I’m
lucky, once I turn in the last two projects that my editors have requested, I’ll
be allowed to do it all over again.
Because no matter how hard writing the next contracted book might be, I
wouldn’t give it up for anything.
5 comments:
TRUTH.
You nailed it, Joelle. I remember the first time I started a book with a publisher's deadline staring me in the face. I panicked and called a much-published friend for reassurance. But she wasn't home so I had to leave a message. I sat down and told myself, "You'll write it the way you've always written--one word, sentence, page ata a time." By the time my friend called back, I was halfway through the first scene. That initial panic was devastating, though.
Great post, Joelle. I'm new at writing the series. I'm used to working with deadlines, but the tricky part for me is the writing for "them" part. At what part in your process do you let "them" come into it. First draft? Third draft?
Mollie- I try not to think about writing for "them" because that freaks me out. But I admit that it is hard to get "them" out of my head when I start the first draft of a new, under contract, book. It takes me about 50 pages before I am able to shut "them" out and just focus on the story and not anyone else's expectations.
Ah, Joelle, I'm so glad others struggle with that, too. Thanks!
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