Author, Lizzie Lamb talks about don't look back!
January, as we know, gets its name from Janus, the Roman god who is traditionally depicted with two faces: one looking forward into the new year and one looking back at what has already happened. As a debut self published author, I have taken Janus as my totem for the writing year ahead - adding my own catch phrase: Don’t Look Back.
As a newbie writer learning her craft I took the advice to “polish, polish, polish those first three chapters,” too literally and spent months revising, editing and adapting doing just that. I harboured the mistaken belief that one could send out those first three immaculate chapters to an agent before the whole novel had been finished. Or present them to an editor at an RNA conference and wait to have my hand snapped off. I wince to think of how delusional I was. 
I would then have had a better idea of the novel as a whole and would not have spent hours writing scenes which I then, later, jettisoned. I dread to think how many highlighting pens I wore out, the pages of the thesaurus I turned searching for the apt phrase, the pithy remark when I should have been trying to keep the narrative going. Needless to say, I have learned my lesson.
My current novel stood at 13,000 words when the indie publishing group I help to found - The New Romantics 4 - finished its book launches on December 12th. It now stands at 40, 000 words. I have resisted the temptation to go back and edit, if I can’t think if a word, a phrase or an emotion - I simply leave a gap and highlight the gap to fill in later. I hope to finish my first ‘dirty draft’ by Easter, review and improve, submit to the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. I will then revise if necessary, assuming I agree with the feedback, and have it ready to upload to Kindle and Create Space by October 1st.
Do-able? Watch this space.
Onwards and upwards is my watchword and I have a photo of my old pal Janus blue tacked to the window near my desk. Just in case I slip back into my old, counter productive ways.
Find out more about Lizzie by visiting our Author and Books Pages
Find out more about Lizzie by visiting our Author and Books Pages
Thank you very much to Pauline and the Famous Five Plus for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with other indie authors. I had great fun writing the post, its been in my head for over a year. A dangerous place to be !!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! Good luck to you. I have TD&K in my Kindle to be read collection and am looking forward to indulging myself with it.
ReplyDeleteHi Dee, I hope you like TDK when you get round to reading it. Trying very hard to fall in love with my new 'hero' at the moment. But after two years writing about Ruairi, it isn't easy. Good luck with your novels, too.
DeleteGood luck, Lizzie! I'm still battling with the 'dirty draft' idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire, its a big step to keep writing and not keep editing. Like jumping off the high diving board - my personal idea of hell. But it now makes total sense to me. I suppose its the difference between being a 'plotster' and a 'pantster'. Think I'm somewhere in the middle now. Good luck with your writing, too.
DeleteGreat totem, Lizzie... ;) Good luck with Book 2 and keep bashing them thar keys!
ReplyDeleteThank Francine, loved your Hug a Book feature at the weekend. Funny how we both enjoy reading about the English Civil War. I have an old novel I bought at a jumble sale when I was a teenager: A WILD BIRD by Margaret Stuart lane (1933)which I re-read from time to time. I thank that's what set me off! Good luck with your novel - and consider them thar keys well and truly bashed !!
DeleteGood luck Lizzie!! I'm sure you can do it! x
ReplyDeleteThank you for popping by and taking the time and trouble to leave a comment Suzy. Many thanks for the retweets, too and good luck with your writing.
DeleteWOW! 27,000 words in a month, you deserve to succeed, Lizzie. One wee thing I wondered was what the RNA ruling on New Writers was in respect of self publication and whether they would consider that as being previously published and therefore ineligible for the New Writer scheme. It might be worth checking out rather than have the hassle at the end of the procedure which might not be terribly good publicity, although they say there is no such thing as bad publicity!
ReplyDeleteHi Chris, I hadn't stopped to think of it as 27k - I was just aware of adding words and chapters from where I'd left off!! That makes me sound a little wacky :-) Regarding the RNA/NWS, I can only graduate off the NWS and be regarded as a 'full' i.e published member if I have been through an editorial process and offered a contract by a publisher. That includes e-publishers, too. By self publishing on Amazon I am still classed as unpublished by the RNA. It does stick in my craw a bit, especially as the Society of Authors will admit me as an associate member as long as I have sold 500 downloads - which I have, and exceeded. I love being a member of the RNA, but for how much long I'm not sure.
DeleteThat's interesting, Lizzie. In that case go for it.
DeleteGreat post, Lizzie. And so inspiring and informative for those of us still en route to the finishing post. You're a great role model and always so encouraging & supportive. I loved your debut novel Tall, Dark & Kilted and can't wait to read your next one. Very best of luck with it! :) xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan, you know the travails I went through to get this finished and edited to my satisfaction. I'm surprised that you didn't block my emails last year. LOL. Am being much quicker with number two, which I hope you will enjoy just as much as TDK. Thank you for being a friend and supporter.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Lizzie. I think we all work in different ways and what suits one person does not necessarily suit another. The important thing is you have found a way of doing things that you are now comfortable with. Writing technique is an on-going process and I think no matter how many books we write (and I'm on my fifth) we never stop learning how we can do things a little better than before. Good luck with book 2!
ReplyDelete:)x
Thanks for leaving a comment Jo. As you say, each to their own. The other gals in the indie publishing support group we've formed (The New Romantics 4) have all gone through a similar process to me. We realised that if we wanted to self publish a book a year (from scratch) we would have to change our way of working. Hope this works, it certainly feels better in my case. Maybe after my 10th book I'll have it sussed. LOL.
ReplyDeleteYour word count is very impressive, Lizzie! I think you are absolutely right to resist the urge to edit as you go along - it can all wait until the first draft is finished. All best of luck withe your latest project. Barbara
ReplyDeleteThanks Barbara, I was able to crack on with the WIP over Christmas because I was the only one in the family who didn't succumb to the lurgy. Everyone else was ill or had the norovirus and so Christmas was virtually cancelled, leaving me time to write. It'll probably never happen again like that. (not that I want my family to be ill, you understand)Resisted the urge to edit, as you say. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteA book a year is a daunting target but it's do-able, especially for someone like you, Lizzie. Great stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gina, I am very determined when I need to be. And I need to have that second novel up there for the pre-Christmas run up on Kindle. Also, if I leave it too long between novels the readers who enjoyed TDK will have forgotten me. Thanks for popping by.
DeleteAn excellent post, Lizzie! I myself have a terrible habit of going back and editing as I write instead of just getting the story down and THEN going back and re-reading it through, which slows me down no end! So, after reading this post I'm now going to try and curb that habit by taking a leaf out of your book, and not looking back! Wishing you loads of success with your second novel, and I'd just like to say that I'm currently reading 'Tall, Dark and Kilted' and thoroughly enjoying it! :)
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks Michelle. My writer/friend and beta reader, June Kearns, calls it going back to 'colour in' the bits where there are gaps or the need for exposition. I love that description. But its not easy to give up polishing as I go along but I think I can do it !! Thank you for buying TDK - I'm presently trying to fall in love with my latest hero. Not easy after spending two years building up a 'relationship' with Ruairi. LOL. Something only another writer would understand.
ReplyDeleteHello Lizzie, a fabulous post and I am forever going round and round trying to polish in the hope I get the best shine.... ! xx
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting it, Pauline and to everyone who has taken the trouble to leave a comment. Signing off now, but I'll check back tomorrow so if anyone does leave a new comment I can respons and thank them. Lizzie xxx
ReplyDeleteA very interesting post Lizzie. It is great that us readers get such a behind the scenes look at how writers work and how books are put together. I look forward to reading and reviewing your books xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nikki. I'm doing Hug a Book very soon, too.
ReplyDelete