Lesson Learned

What my first year as an aspiring author taught me.

In one year, I’ve started and completed two full books.

That’s about 200,000 words.

*insert the shocked face emoji*

The past twelve months have been filled with trial-and-error moments, so I thought it fitting that I celebrate this first anniversary of mine by sharing some lessons learned. But first, let’s rewind to the beginning.

Ready for some time travel?

At the very end of April 2022, I dove headfirst into writing my very first book. My prior writing experience had revolved around songwriting, poetry, and sporadic blogging, but nothing long-form.

A.K.A. I knew absolutely nothing about writing a book.

Which brings us to…

Lesson 1: Writing without a game plan is a lot like pushing off your holiday shopping ‘til last-minute and hoping you strike the gift-giving jackpot.

I can practically hear the pantser’s already arguing against this, but hear me out. I’m not saying you need to have a full plot to write a successful story (although I personally adore plotting). What I am saying is that having an idea of what your character’s story arc, even if that idea is a single sentence, can be extremely helpful.

With my first book, I was so focused on the setting and the plot that I neglected the character development. The conflict was minimal and my MC lacked any notable growth. And the most unfortunate part is that I didn’t even realize this until after the book was “finished” (i.e. the full manuscript had been written, edited, tested with beta readers, and sent to an editor).

I do think my lack of querying success with Book One was largely because I lacked a hook-and-stakes follow through.

Lesson 2: Writing is a team sport.

Technically, this doesn’t have to be true. A writer can brainstorm, draft, and edit all by themselves. But just because we are capable doing it all by ourselves does not mean we should.

When I compare the writing experiences between Book One and Book Two, the biggest difference was how much the involvement from the writing community kept me motivated. Every single time I got a message from someone wanting a word-count update, taking a guess at my MC’s name, or asking to be a beta reader… it fueled me.

And beyond that, it made my writing better.

Having other people involved in the writing process, especially trustworthy people who share similar passions, can only benefit your book.

The most obvious example of this is getting outside eyeballs to read through your manuscript, which is so crucial and terrifying and incredibly rewarding. But in addition to critique partners and beta readers, having friends that hype you up (as you knock out that first draft, push through edits, and fumble through the querying trenches) is equally valuable.

Lesson 3: The fictional friends in my head are not sufficient replacements for real-life friendships.

This might seem like a “duh” to you. Obviously fictional people cannot replace real people. But writing can be such an intoxicatingly exciting experience that quickly snowballs into isolation.

Writers, check in with your people. The living and breathing ones that remind you how beautiful reality can be.

People, check in your writing friends. You are our anchors and we adore you for that.

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Well, friend. That’s all I got for now. I know, I know. Three lessons in 365 days isn’t a lot. To be fair, I wrote 200,000 words this year. My poor fingers are tired, okay?

So I’m going to turn the tables around on you.

Whether you’ve been a writer for a day, a year, or multiple decades, what’s one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?

I’m all ears in the comment section (linked below).

Chat soon!

– Alexis