A good preparer
Jerry Bruce Jenkins, born in 1949, is an established bestselling writer who has also known how to ride the wave of change brought about by the passage of the typhoon of digital books and Amazon. He is not well known to the Italian public, but suffice it to say, as his Wikipedia page also reports, that the series written together with Tim LaHaye, entitled Left Behind, is in the Amazon hall of fame which collects the ten most sold in the first ten years of activity of the e-commerce giant (1995-2005).
Jenkins has written over 180 books and sold over 70 million copies. Her work spans a wide range of genres within fiction, non-fiction and children's literature. It can truly be said that few people can match the experience and titles of the Kalamazoo Michigan writer.
Well, Jenkins has collected his suggestions for aspiring authors in a 5-word ebook that can be downloaded for free from his site. The book is titled How to Become an Author. Your complete guide.
We've written a lot on our blog about the craft of book writing in an age where materials equivalent to 4 billion books are published in one day. And the valuation, reported by "Wired", refers to a few years ago and therefore today there will be a few more billions to add. Never has the earth been populated by so many writers. However, the author is another thing as a writer. Because a book is a book, it's not a post, it's not a blog article. It is something that requires a specific commitment and a specific preparation that is not really something that everyone is trained in, as it is instead for writing, something much more democratic and less elitist
Below we report, for the Italian reader who aspires to become a book author, the three things that according to Jenkins must be done before deciding to write a book. The passages are a summary of the mentioned ebook.
Truths and fables of a career
Have you decided to become an author? Well, here's some good news and some bad news. Let's start with the latter. Writing a book is one of the most challenging things you will ever do. If you've already started writing… I think I see you nodding your head.
Courage, there is also some good news: this work is really worth undertaking. Slaving is the ticket you pay for entering a world of tremendous opportunity which can mean: getting published, pursuing your dream career, influencing people with your writing, getting media attention, and finally striking it rich off the revenues of royalties.
You will tell me: Jerry, you are talking about an exception and not the rule. And you are absolutely right! According to Steven Piersanti, president of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, a non-fiction book sells on average less than 250 copies in a year and does not exceed 3 copies in the entire span of its existence.
Time and breath. If you really intend to be an author, you can be just the exception. I am living proof that this is possible.
Think about this: Every famous author you've heard of started where you are now: unknown and without a publisher. John Grisham, Stephen King, JK Rowling. Their names, once, if pronounced left indifferent. Who can say that your name isn't on everyone's lips over the course of a year?
You might be thinking, Me? Never! Okay, but if you don't try it's certain you never will. But… don't start writing a book until you've a) mastered the craft, b) written and sold things shorter than a book, and c) joined a writing community.
I understand. You are agitated and impatient. You already feel ready to write your bestseller. Maybe you've heard of authors who, even though they haven't written anything before, managed to sell millions of copies on their first attempt. Slows! These stories are exaggerated and told with a lot of kick drum precisely because they are so rare. Don't play the lottery. If you want your book (and your message) to go somewhere, follow my advice.
Learn the trade from those who do this trade
There is no need to self-taught. We can learn from the experience of those who have made the same journey and have also told about it. Great writers are first and foremost great readers. Here are my 11 favorite books on writing. Start with these.
[Those available in Italian translation are listed with the title of the Italian edition. The others are only in English or other languages. All of these titles can be found on Amazon. Many are also in the Kindle version, therefore immediately downloadable].
1) Marie Arana, The Writing Life: Writers On How They Think and Work
This book was born out of Azana's experience as a literary critic for the Washington Post. More than fifty authors of fiction and non-fiction tell how they discovered writing and their experience as authors. It's intriguing to find out what they like and what they don't like. Arana also writes a short profile of each author. [Not available in Kindle format]
2) James Scott Bell, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish
It is anything but a dry manual. Instead, it's a fresh and witty guide written by an ex-lawyer that will keep you wide awake as he reviews the fundamentals of the craft such as plot, narrative structure, the differences between literary and genre fiction. [Available in Kindle format ]
3) Brandilyn Collins, Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors
Thanks to her theatrical training, Collins outlines the ways to characterize a character as it happens on the stage of a theater and shows the novelist the techniques necessary to obtain this result. [Available in Kindle format]
4) Annie Dillard, The Writing Life
Dillard's ethereal prose also comes through when she writes about writing. A very rare gift. This honest approach of hers makes us reflect on how exhausting the job of writing is. It is one of the best books on the art of writing. [Also available in audiobook version]
5) Stephen King, On writing. Autobiography of a trade
There are so many ideas in this book that I don't even know where to start. In addition to countless practical advice, you'll get an essay in King's inimitable style told in his own words. You will learn a lot of things while having madly fun. [Only the book is available in Italian, in English in all formats including audiobook)
6) Dean Koontz, How to Write Bestselling Fiction
I am not exaggerating when I say this book has changed my life. He taught me how to write the Left Behind series that sold 60 million copies and is still selling in six figures ten years after its release. I use it as a textbook in my writing classes. [Not available in Kindle format]
7) Anne Lamott, Writing. Creative writing lessons
Lamott makes you laugh out loud and a minute later makes you cry as she tells, with brutal honesty, the joys and travails of a life dedicated to writing: from solitude, to detoxification to the rediscovery of faith in the profession. [Only the book is available in Italian, in English in all formats including audiobook]
8) Donald Maass, Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level
A literary agent inspires us to do more than pull the strings of a story, they inspire us to think big, tackle the big issues, and write books that change people's lives. The book contains useful indications for writing a text that really contains something that makes it emerge in an overcrowded market. [Available in Kindle format]
9) Sol Stein, Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies
Novelist, editor, publisher and teacher of writing, Stein is one of the doyens of the American literary scene. His career spans decades, and in this book, he shares with us insider information about great writers and their work. He also shares everything he has learned during his long career. I attended his courses and continue to follow his advice. [Available in all formats including audiobook]
10) William Zinsser, Writing Well
We must not overlook Zinsser's background. Zinsser is a classicist and a classic, universally praised for the clarity and empathy of his teaching. Zinsser gives us some tips on the fundamentals of writing any genre you intend to tackle. [Only the book is available in Italian, in English also in the Kindle version]
11) William Strunk Jr. – EB White, Elements of style in writing
Don't start by reading these indisputable classics, it is equivalent to reading the 10 classics of Christianity while ignoring the Bible. This short paperback is recommended by every writing teacher I know. I've read it at least once a year for forty years. Its simple truths cover everything from style to grammar to use of language. Make it your second nature. [Only the book is available in Italian, in English in all formats including audiobook]
The competition has become fierce and you will be doing yourself a favor by learning about the experience of writers who have gone before you. Take the time to learn, and later you'll thank yourself for doing it.
Write something shorter than a book
A book shouldn't be the first activity to undertake just as you can't enroll in middle school when you're still in kindergarten. The book is a point of arrival: first learn the trade and nurture your talent.
Write a diary, write a newsletter, start a blog. Get your articles published in a couple of periodicals, in a journal in an ezine. Take evening or online journalism and creative writing classes.
Publishers take authors who already have a certain following (readers, followers on Facebook or fans in some social media). Start building yourself this public platform.
Come out of your shell, learn what it means to be published, become an expert in something, build a following, and only then start thinking about writing a book or novel.
Join a community of authors
Are you thinking of doing everything by yourself? Then you're a better writer than me. To my knowledge, every author who has published something is part of a community that helps them. Otherwise how could he cope with feelings such as frustration, discouragement, waiting, the desire to give up. I've written more than 185 books and still, at some point, I wonder if I'll be able to finish what I'm working on. Belonging to a community means I can get relief and encouragement from colleagues whenever I need it.
When you're starting out, another pair of eyes resting on your work can be something invaluable. Ten pairs of eyes are even better. Join a group of writers, find a mentor, be open to criticism.
One tip in this regard: make sure that there is at least one person in the group, preferably the leader, who has already published and knows the world of publishing well.
If you have completed these three phases, you can start writing your book. But be careful. Many aspiring authors don't make it past the first page. Whether for the need to procrastinate or for any other reason, the fact is that only a few writers continue beyond the incipit. To avoid joining this sad group, you need a plan. Regardless of your personal writing method or approach to writing, make sure you have a precise writing timeline that takes into account all the needs of your work, such as research, scouting, information gathering and so on.
Let's see these aspects in detail.
Writing is a job like any other
If you are an author, then writing becomes your job and you must treat it as you treat real work. You have to show up for work on time and you have to do it whether you feel like it or not. Writer's block is no excuse. In no workplace could you be absent saying you have a worker's block. Say that and you'll get a nice redundancy letter right away.
Find at least six hours a week to write. Finding is not quite the right word. You don't have to find, you have to schedule that time. Put it in your agenda and make that time something sacred and untouchable. You will be amazed at your work ability when you finally settle into your writing chair.
Plan and research
You can skip the steps I'm about to expose you at your own risk. It will be the preparation that will make your book a success or a failure. There are two things you need to prepare carefully. Here they are.
1) Make a plan of the work. Regardless of how you think about schematizations, it needs a trace, an idea to get started. When you start writing a novel there are two options: either you have a plan already in mind (i.e. you're an outliner) or you feel like improvising (i.e. you're a pantser). However, if you are a non-fiction author, you can only be an outliner.
If we talk about fiction, the definition of an outliner is obvious. The outliner plans everything in advance. Instead of pantser they write through a process of discovery – or as Stephen King puts it “they put characters in problematic situations and try to describe on the spot what happens to them”.
Neither technique is better or worse, right or wrong. Every author uses one or the other. There is also a minority of hybrids with a prevalence of one over the other in a field of co-presence. But depending on your preference for the outliner or the pantser, you'll approach the opera plan completely differently.
If you are a fundamentalist outliner (and a novelist) you will find interesting the method of my friend and colleague Randy Ingermanson who himself defines the "Snowflake Method". There you will learn how to work on structure by letting your prose take shape on the fly and break free from constraints.
2) Do some research. All great stories are the result of research. If research languishes, history suffers. If your character drives 10km east of the Chicago ring road he must drive an amphibious vehicle, because Lake Michigan is there.
To avoid these embarrassing mistakes, you need to do some research. Immerse yourself in the details of the setting of your novel. Make sure none of your characters wear a down jacket in a 30-degree climate.
There are many sources to refer to for information: it is the ones that must be used to verify the validity of our story.
Thank you Jenkins for telling us these not at all obvious things.
