Thank you Keri. I am an amateur author who started very late in life. I self-published a book that took me 4 years to write, with editing help and encouragement from a friend who is an author. My professional background was teaching high school mathematics and part-time pastor of small churches. So, writing is stretching and challenging me, as you might guess. I just started writing on Substack about 3 months ago--Radiant Hope. I am enjoying this more than the writing of the book. Do you have any posts about how to compile smaller writings, like my posts, into a book? All of my posts have a common theme.
Hi Frank, thanks for your comment. I think blog posts or substack posts can definitely be repurposed into a book, perhaps a devotional or collection of essays. I actually did a post about this a while back. It's here: https://keriwyattkent.substack.com/p/self-publishing-start-with-baby-steps The important question (beyond the pieces sharing a theme) is who is the reader? What does your collection of essays or devotional or whatever do for that reader?
I am my most productive when I have a goal of 1,000 words or more. It helps me stay on track, and often, I can crank out much more than that, which gives me permission to occasionally take a "half-day" if needed for other life circumstances. Joining NANOWRIMO communities so I feel the pressure of keeping up is great for me, but I'm competitive. The pressure might not help people who aren't.
Butt in chair. Maybe that's were Bic pens got their name, haha.
I love setting a word count goal over a time goal because I might daydream away half my writing "time" and then eke out a minimum number of words.
I also like your recommendation of two hours for revision with ten-minute breaks after 50 minutes of work. I aim for a chapter per day when I'm revising which is often about two hours, but I forget to take a break and my brain is fried when I'm finished.
After the drafting phrase, when we’re in the editing phase, what are some daily goals we can set? We’re no longer writing 1000 words a day. A word count goal is clear and simple, and when I’m in an editing stage, I miss the satisfaction of that.
Great question. In the book I mentioned, Making a Literary Life, See's full recommendation is 1000 words a day, or two hours of revision. I do find whether I'm writing or revising, setting a timer for 50 minutes, then taking a ten minute break, then getting back to it, really helps as well. So editing phase is easier to track with time.
Those are great tips, thanks! Two hours of revising per day, with a ten minute break after the first hour sounds likes it might work well. I'd been trying to set a goal of revising a number of pages or a certain section, but couldn't make that work. Also, I'd often set a goal of just one hour, but would barely be getting up steam and then had scheduled something else.
Thank you Keri. I am an amateur author who started very late in life. I self-published a book that took me 4 years to write, with editing help and encouragement from a friend who is an author. My professional background was teaching high school mathematics and part-time pastor of small churches. So, writing is stretching and challenging me, as you might guess. I just started writing on Substack about 3 months ago--Radiant Hope. I am enjoying this more than the writing of the book. Do you have any posts about how to compile smaller writings, like my posts, into a book? All of my posts have a common theme.
Hi Frank, thanks for your comment. I think blog posts or substack posts can definitely be repurposed into a book, perhaps a devotional or collection of essays. I actually did a post about this a while back. It's here: https://keriwyattkent.substack.com/p/self-publishing-start-with-baby-steps The important question (beyond the pieces sharing a theme) is who is the reader? What does your collection of essays or devotional or whatever do for that reader?
Thank you Keri. I’ll look at your post.
I am my most productive when I have a goal of 1,000 words or more. It helps me stay on track, and often, I can crank out much more than that, which gives me permission to occasionally take a "half-day" if needed for other life circumstances. Joining NANOWRIMO communities so I feel the pressure of keeping up is great for me, but I'm competitive. The pressure might not help people who aren't.
Butt in chair. Maybe that's were Bic pens got their name, haha.
I love setting a word count goal over a time goal because I might daydream away half my writing "time" and then eke out a minimum number of words.
I also like your recommendation of two hours for revision with ten-minute breaks after 50 minutes of work. I aim for a chapter per day when I'm revising which is often about two hours, but I forget to take a break and my brain is fried when I'm finished.
After the drafting phrase, when we’re in the editing phase, what are some daily goals we can set? We’re no longer writing 1000 words a day. A word count goal is clear and simple, and when I’m in an editing stage, I miss the satisfaction of that.
Debbie
Great question. In the book I mentioned, Making a Literary Life, See's full recommendation is 1000 words a day, or two hours of revision. I do find whether I'm writing or revising, setting a timer for 50 minutes, then taking a ten minute break, then getting back to it, really helps as well. So editing phase is easier to track with time.
Those are great tips, thanks! Two hours of revising per day, with a ten minute break after the first hour sounds likes it might work well. I'd been trying to set a goal of revising a number of pages or a certain section, but couldn't make that work. Also, I'd often set a goal of just one hour, but would barely be getting up steam and then had scheduled something else.