2 minute read (by Tom Cain)
I have written and finished a science fiction book. Now I am, most likely, about to embark on the arduous but thoroughly exciting journey of self publishing.
It started with sending an email to my work colleague while at work. I wrote a one page film script and introduction to a movie opening I would love to see. My college replied with page two, this continued until we had a 90 page script. It was ugly, rough, the narrative was messy, the dialogue was crass and the story had holes like craters. BUT it was loads of fun doing it while trying to arrange meetings for IT sales people to flog computers.
After the script was ‘complete’ it fell into obscurity, history became legend, legend became myth, and for two and a half thousand… hold on thats Lord of The Rings. I’m going off point, but the point remains. The script was forgotten.
Until, one faithful day, it was happened upon by the most unlikely creature imaginable…me. I found it digitally in my emails, I must have saved it there or send it to myself many moons ago.
I thought to myself. On my bucket list of things to do, is write a book. So by Joe i’m going to make this sci-fi script into a book, a half decent one if possible. And I did, it took my the best part of five years on and off to complete.
the book took itself five years to finish writing because I would give up on it on occasion then wait for six months and come back to it. After I got the motivation to plough through it and finish the final scene and think of an ending, the hard work began. You may think that writing words down with some semblance of order is the end of your turmoil. No sir, it is the beginning.
After I had finished the book, I read it again and corrected (online) all the plot holes and mistakes I could find. Then after that, I read it again and repeated the process, this took weeks. I then printed the book, to have a physical copy of the book. and read the book again with a red pen and made notes and corrections on any new mistakes I found. After leaving it a few weeks I read it again then made more corrections and added them to the digital copy, cutting bits out and adding bits in.
86,000 odd words later the book was ‘complete’, is it perfect absolutely not. Its my first ever book.
So now what? how do I self publish? well another bunch of hard work. BUT it will pay off in the end .
Create eBook version of book, record audiobook, make video trailer, start twitter for book, grow the fan base, contact press, create artwork, put online, create social profiles, loads of things to do and so little time. I should get going with it all.
Moral: If you are inclined to write a book. Do (it’s awesome). but know its a bunch of hard work. And it doesn’t finish when you finish the book.