There are so many things about writing and becoming a published author you don’t realize until you decide to become one.
I was nineteen when I decided to write my first book. I read “Twilight” and thought to myself, I can do this. I wrote my first pages in a week and shared it with my family. I was so proud and they were all very kind with their feedback. That first draft, start to finish, took seven years to complete. I would write in chucks, then partying took me away from it. I picked up the writing again, then a paying job took priority. When I figured out that I wouldn’t ever complete my book if I didn’t force myself to write (even when my work day was long and daunting), I took to writing once more. It was a long rough road but I made it.
First book complete. It sat in its completed state for another few years, even after sending it to a few agents. I didn’t think about editing until I read it to a friend aloud (what an amazing friend she was), which as many know, HUGE mistake. I found typo after typo, run-on sentences, poor grammar choices, and my favorite word “so” found it’s way to a lot of my sentences to make it dramatic. “She was SO amazed”, “I found that SO interesting”, my SO was SO dramatic. I’ve edited that same story at least four times but probably five or six and still I find mistakes or things to take out or add. Needless to say, it still isn’t published.
Here is where the investing comes in. I need an editor. There is no getting around it and I have since wrote another couple of books. The problem is the cost. To have a professional edit your work, it costs more than I can afford, even for editors who are just starting out and wanting to build their clients. The discounts are wonderful but still too high. At nineteen and through the age of twenty-six, I never thought I would have to pay anything for my creativity. I thought, write a book and then the publisher would take care of the rest, if I ever found one. The past three years have been eye opening and I am still learning what it takes to become a published author. I’ll invest in my craft, I just need to save in order to do so. Once editing is complete, proper formatting, book size and cover will have their go at me. The cost of self publishing will be a beast I could possibly tame but with my vision of the book, it won’t be so easy. Such is life.
Gala Serks 