In the Beginning
Writing for me truly started fifteen years ago. I’ll not bore you with the infinite details from then to now. It did, however, begin with a nightmare, one that ultimately proved to be all-important to the existence of the 11:34 saga. I awoke, not in fright but awe. I could have rolled back over and returned to my restless sleep. I could have, and none of this would be a reality today. Instead, I spent the next three hours writing the outline that would be the basis of the series.
Baby Steps
While I believe in education, I don't believe in the greedism that has become sports-led universities. I find technical and small schools perfectly adequate. If you wish to spend a hundred thousand dollars or more on a Master of Fine Arts, then that is your prerogative. Just be prepared to scout low-paying jobs doing something that inspired you to pursue your advanced degree. Less than 2% of authors make $100,000 per year, so be prepared to break out the Ramen noodles for your three squares a day. I attended technical schools and workshops, earned an Arts degree, and smoothed some of those rough edges without putting myself in perpetual debt. I believed in myself, chased a few dreams at once, and never quit on myself. It cost nary a penny to study on my own time, to research, to pick up new skills, and build upon existing ones.
One Million Words
Research. Reading, Books. Internet. Some consistent advice you should heed. Spend equal time reading as you do writing. Read books written by a variety of authors (successful and not so well known) in the genre of your choosing. Build your voice and writing style by authoring a million words.
I put 11:34 on the back burner to write a 360-page fantasy novel. I wrote several short stories, many of which I entered into writing contests. I rewrote that fantasy novel eleven times. I began writing the Test of Mettle stories, some of which are present in Cataclysm.
I attended GWW classes and wrote more compositions, essays, and short stories. I read other students’ stories and critiqued them. With my skills drastically improved, I revisited my work with a different set of eyes. Those eyes despised the writing from my fantasy novel, though I still find the story to be very appealing – one that I plan to revisit at a later date. I kept writing and reading from the masters. I attended Master Classes. David Baldacci, James Patterson, Dan Brown, Margaret Atwood. I read. I watched. I wrote. Always moving forward. Always looking to improve.
The First Draft
I hear so many authors tell tales of people who tell them they are thinking of writing a book. I've heard this too. If you seek sage advice, well, here it is: it's like anything in life: if you are serious about it, then you will make time, and you will get it done. It's not easy. It's not guaranteed to make you rich. It's about passion and seeing that dream to fruition.
After I wrote the first draft of Cataclysm and printed the manuscript at a local office supply store, I went through the process of reading and marking it up. I applied changes after each day’s reading until finished. It took about two or three weeks. I bought poster paper and sticky notes at the same store and developed the storyline for the first three books in the series.
The manuscript went through dozens of changes over a few years. I was never quite satisfied.
In 2017, I completed the first major edit of the novel and copyrighted my work in 2018. I had been working on it for a dozen years by then, so it seemed prudent.
In 2018, I started on the sequel after a second major rewrite of Cataclysm. In December 2018, I began peddling the novel to over forty agents. By June 2019, I received no hits and about a dozen rejections.
In the meantime, I rebuilt my website a few times and produced a pair of book trailers for the first novel.
Dissatisfied with the agents' lack of enthusiasm, I decided on another tactic. I researched several companies, asking about their services, the cost, and what real writers said about them. I settled on Write by Night in New York and paid them to professionally critique the manuscript.
By the end of June 2019, I had grown very ill. The illness lasted eight months. My life was put on hold. Cataclysmwould have to wait until I became well again.
By late April 2020, with the information received from the critique, I tackled the third major rewrite with renewed enthusiasm.
In August, I paid Write by Night to professionally proofread and edit the manuscript. Have you ever read a novel, particularly an e-book, chock full of mistakes? Anyone committed to authoring should consider accomplishing these tasks.
In September, after minor tweaking, the first novel in the 11:34 series was ready for publication. With help from my friends in New York, we peddled the manuscript to more than three dozen agents and publishers.
While the hope is for someone (an agent or publisher) to pick this up in the coming weeks, the novel is ready for e-publication should that fall through.
