I thought it would be fun to show my process when writing! Maybe it will inspire you to write that story that's been in your head & heart. 🥰
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Stage 1!
Writing like no tomorrow! My brother is also an established author, and writing seems to run in the family. But it was his advice that really grounded me. "Write the book first, edit it later."
I write what I feel like, in the moment. I have about 5 different books on the go, because if I feel like spending time with different characters, I can. Sometimes it's here and there, and sometimes it's a whole character arc.
Each character arc gets a different color of text in my first go-through. This makes it easier to re-organize them once each one is done. Ofc this method sometimes means I have to do rewrites so that I can fit timelines together, but I don't worry about that until the end.
Stage 2!
Canva is my savior machine. I always struggled with keeping things organized until I discovered Whiteboard. Now I can make lil post it notes, and the colors represent the character arcs, or happenings. I match the colors with the text from the book, putting it in this order on the post-it note:
1. Chapter Number
2. Chapter Title
3. Where it's taking place
4. A brief chapter description
I always edit during this process.
Then I decide which chapters would be good for images for my artist to create. I try to spread them out if I can. Once I make that decision, I outline them on the left colum and then begin the process of image boards and information for my artist!
Stage 3!
I begin the process of image boards and information for my artist! I don't want to show you what I have on that board just yet, these are for upcoming works. However, I locate backgrounds on Canva, then use shadow people to show the positions and poses I want. However, it's never a hard rule at all. Shye is free to explore his artistic expression and give all the recommendations and I always listen to his suggestions.
This is usually the time the book goes for developmental editing, and I work on something else 🥰 I always get updates from Shye, which is fun to watch as the images come to life.
And sometimes I get fun stuff like this to make me laugh 😂
All Stages!
I check my character sheets and make sure that I have done the right thing for each character arc and make changes if need be. I keep maps, timelines, and storylines in each book. I add the images as they are completed. I also add in the completed cover once I get the art from Shye and the ISBN. Covers are Shye's art, and then I match the embellishments across all covers, changing just the colors. At this point, I still don't know how many pages my book will be, but when I get it back from developmental editing I begin the process of making changes according to their recommendations.
Stage 5!
I have now gone through developmental editing, art placement, and I know how many pages my book will be, so I use the Amazon cover creator, make it in Canva and make sure all the settings in my Microsoft Word are correct. Then it's time to upload the book and do checks. I don't fully submit it, I order an author copy to see how my cover looks and edit once more.
Stage 6!
Once that's begun, I can order more author copies of my book and do more edits. Author copies come with NOT FOR RESALE bands around them and are $12.00 each. I find that there are more mistakes I find in the work here, because it's different reading it in person than it is on the computer. I do this many times. I have MANY of my own books that will never see the light of day, covered in tabs lol Here is two of them so you see just how many mistakes one can make before the final process. 😂
That's pretty much it!
Even still it's okay to find mistakes, especially as an indie author. You're doing most of it alone, not everyone can afford to spend on editing and have to do it all on their own, or perhaps with friends. If you have a great support base, I applaud you! It's very difficult to find, and make sure to apprciate them in return.
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