Building a team

This one is going to be tough for a lot of you aspiring to be writers out there. Many of us writer types are introverted and private by nature. I think that comes with the territory. Still, from my experience so far, this has made a huge difference for me. Maybe I'm lucky, but maybe not too. Maybe this just has to do with having the right attitude.

After I finished writing the book, came the question, "what next?" Well, first of all I knew I needed to edit the book, but even more importantly, I needed opinions. Was it any good? I thought so, but since I wrote it, I'm biased. I needed some slightly more unbiased opinions. Naturally I reached out to friends and family, but obviously there will still be some bias there, because they want to be supportive. So I took a chance offering it out to some gaming friends on facebook. These were people I didn't know at all. I also made it available to some people who were in the same yahoo group as me. I've had mixed results with that experiment but let me offer this advice. Don't send anyone the PDF to anyone unless they have an e-reader like a Kindle or Nook. It became obvious to me that well-meaning people who thought they would sit down in front of their laptop and read it, really couldn't find the time.

My best friend and web designer, Mark Buckley, offered to help me with the book as sort of a side project. His wife Janet graciously agreed to do the editing. Reviews came back and, while there have been some minor criticisms, the response has been positive and encouraging. The side project has evolved into a team since we started working on it. This team consists of me and my wife, my brother Denny and his wife, Berny, and the aforementioned Mark and Janet. We all have very different personalities and I think that has been crucial to the dynamic of the team. We put together a business plan and started working towards weekly or bi-weekly goals. Everybody gets homework to take home.

Now, it helps to have a detail-oriented, spreadsheet-loving business manager like my friend Mark. Seriously though, if he could bottle up what he has and sell it to other aspiring authors, I would recommend it highly. You have to work on all those little goals, though. Being able to check off all the small accomplishments helps you get closer and closer to your ultimate goal, which is getting published. If I had tried to do this all myself, well, let's just say it would have been messy. If at all possible, build that team of people who believe in you and your book. I don't recommend trying to go it alone, and you know that is what most of you are doing. Good luck.

Writing a book

So Dave, "How did you manage to write a book?" you might ask. Well let me tell you, it's really hard! And I mean that sincerely. Not that I wouldn't do it again, because I definitely would. In fact, I plan to do it at least six more times for this series, and a bunch more after that as well. I've wanted to be a professional writer for twenty-five years. But if you want to write a book, make sure you aren't biting off more than you can chew. Think it's hard to find the time to write? It is. Imagine that you'll have writer's block? You will. If you find you can stick with it though, you may just be able to unleash your proudest creation on the world.

Finding the time to write. For me, this was probably the most difficult thing to do. I have a full-time job and so does my wife, Pauline. We have two kids and have to split household duties. To top it all off, Pauline, usually works nights so feeding the kids and helping with homework falls to me. It was hard finding time to write. And even if some free time dropped in my lap, it's not always easy to just start typing away. How "On Demand" is your creative flow? If you have all the free time you need, more power to you. If that's the case and you want to write a book, my guess is you will succeed. But we're all busy, right? We all have these hectic, non-stop lives that keep getting in the way of our dreams. So to pull this off, to write your very first book, writing needs to become very, very important to you. "Oh, but I just like to unwind with a couple facebook games after a busy day." Or maybe it's "I can't miss my shows. Jersey Shore is the best!" Whatever it is, I've been there, believe me. Well, except for Jersey Shore, I don't watch that one, but you know what I mean.

If you want to write a book, short story, play or whatever, you have to find the time to do it. You need to think about it, plan for it and take advantage when free time comes your way. When I started writing the book, I put in a lot of late nights, after the family had gone to bed. I'd say more than half, maybe two thirds or so of the book was written that way. Some people wake up really early to write, but I've never been a morning person, I'm more of a night owl. Every summer I get a week at my mother's cottage in New Hampshire, and I usually got some writing done there also. Last winter, when I was really focused on finishing the book, I just kind of told my family they had to give me a day on the weekend to write. I let them choose which one, but I needed a day to myself. Once you get on a roll, you'll give up your facebook games or whatever it is you do to distract yourself and put more into the book. You'll want to, because you can see how it is developing. This book is yours, you created it. Art is probably the closest a man can get to understanding what giving birth is like. Now, I'm not saying it's the same ladies, so don't take it the wrong way. But do you know what I mean? When you finish a piece of art, whether it's a book, a painting, a song or whatever, well, that came from you. Building's cool too, like construction, but it's not the same and I know, because I've done both.

I think I might be losing my focus a little so let me wrap this up. If you want to write a book, make sure you understand the commitment that will be required of you. Dedicate yourself and you won't be sorry. Stop making excuses, or excuses will be all that you have. I could come up with dozens of excuses why I didn't have the time to write. It wasn't until I made up excuses so that I could write, that I finished the book. Writing has to be more important to you than unwinding after a busy day, watching tv, relaxing, etc... THAT is the time you have to write, you just don't see it. Work hard, throw yourself into it, and I bet you will love what results you achieve.

So why are you still reading this blog? Go write your book already.