If all you want to do is write, go for it. You don’t have to get permission or a license. All you need is a pencil and paper or maybe a computer depending on how serious you take your endeavor. If writing a novel is a future goal then this is one way to hone your skills. Many professionals recommend that you start out small. You could write an article for the local paper or a magazine, and even consider a blog. This not only improves your writing skills, but it also builds up the resume that you will need later when approaching an agent/publisher.
If you do want to write a novel, you should know it’s hard work. Those people who say, “Anybody can write a book, how hard can it be?” They’ve never written a novel and most definitely never had one published. You have to research, outline, draft and redraft, not to mention the countless revisions. I have probably done a complete revision of my book 4-5 times. I’ve lost count to be honest and these revisions don’t include the numerous times I have reworked scenes or randon sentences that didn’t read well. Did I mention combing it for grammatical and structural errors. That’s a lot of fun, especially if you aren’t an English major. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to stop writing to google simple questions on grammar.
Another thing to keep in mind, your first novel probably won’t be a masterpiece. This is true of every writer of every first novel. That does include Nicholas Spark and J.K. Rowling. Keep in mind you are learning the craft as your write. You will need to understand how to work dialogue, pace your book, construct a plot that is plausible and cohesive, build tension and create characters that your reader likes and can relate to. Experts say it takes about 10,000 hours of writing to prepare you to write a publishable novel.
I don’t meant to discourage anyone. I just want to make sure you know what you are getting in to. Most books take 5-10 years to get published. I’m on year 5 so maybe I’m approaching the finish line. I sure hope I was a fast learner. If this is what you want to do, improve your skills by reading and writing. Yes you need to read. I would also recomment that you take classes, attend seminars, research, and join writing groups (WritersWrite.com). You will get there. The biggy is DON’T GIVE UP!
-Jan R
Being a first time Author, I had no idea how complex the editing process was. My idea of editing included spell check, making sure punctuation was used appropriately, and everything was in the right tense(past, present…).
Yes!!!!!! Especially if this is your first book. If you have already written a best seller, your agent and editor may cut you some slack, if not, that book better be pretty close to perfect or nobody is going to look at it. I know you’ve heard this before if you’ve done any type of research, but agents receive hundreds of queries a week. They don’t have time to read everyone. If your manuscript is full of grammatical and structural errors, that’s all the excuse they need to toss it to the side and move on to the next one.
So you’ve spent the last year or so writing your first novel. It may be a great story but it want even make it to first base if it’s poorly written. Great stories with a significant number of structural and grammatical errors get tossed to the side everyday. How’s your dialogue? Does it move your story forward or just sit like a rock slowing things down and encouraging the reader to skip it completely. What about your platform? Do you have one? Great manuscripts of first time authors get pushed to the side everyday because the aspiring author doesn’t have a solid platform.
Writing your first novel-Things you should know 