I’m waiting for the manuscript of my fourth novel to come back from my editor, so I haven’t started the fifth book yet. I recently had my website built by DigiPrint, and I’m told you have to post something every day. So I’m putting a few draft posts in the bag for when I’m busy on the next novel. When I am working on a novel a typical writing day includes:
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- Thinking through the next scene. Where did the last scene get us, and where do we go next?
- Research. Historical fiction requires a lot of research. Has the telescope been invented yet? No, he’ll just have to peer ahead then.
- Write the scene.
- Take a break.
- Begin writing again
I find that at the beginning of a novel I may write around a thousand words a day. That grows to perhaps tow or three thousand by the end. There’s nothing like having the finishing line in sight to spur you into a sprint. Now that I have the website, I’ll have to add a daily post into the mix. Of course I still have a life. I play golf, go shopping, watch the TV, read books, go sailing when the weather’s right, and try to keep Claire happy.
When the manuscript is ready to go to my editor, I’ll brief my cover designer on my thoughts for the cover. When the manuscript comes back, I’ll make the corrections and changes. Then it’s a question of crunching the manuscript into the KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) template for the paperback, and Kindle Create for the ebook. Then I upload the books and covers onto the KDP site, fill in a lot of boxes, add my ISBN numbers and publish. Now that I have an audiobook producer, Simon de Deney, I get the manuscript over to him, together with a cast list to help him get the accents right.
I said in an earlier post that I will be working with a book publicist on the launch of the current book. So hopefully the days of interviews and book signings as well as writing, are just around the corner.