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I learned a ton while writing 500,000 words in the year prior to publishing my first book. Here are thirteen surprising things I learned along the way.

If you’re a writer looking for tips for writing a book, I hope this will encourage you. Let me know if you’ve experienced any of these sometimes-painful lessons.

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1. Success is not assured

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In the fall of 2017, I experienced a major life change that afforded extra free time. I wanted to do something exciting that felt productive and meaningful. So after learning about NanoWrimo, I decided to write more.

Then after winning nano —  which basically means you just write 50k+ words — I kept going with my new-found obsession. Yes, obsession. Never a dabbler, I threw myself into the pursuit, confident of near-term success.

I knew nothing about the publishing industry, nor did I have a realistic picture of my own abilities. 

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Heck, I probably figured I’d see my debut on a Barnes & Noble shelf by the end of the year. 🙂

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2. Success takes a long time

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During 2018 I wrote over 400,000 words. It was probably closer to 500,000 if you count deleted words, freelancing, and occasional blog posts. The body of work amounted to five full-length manuscripts — most of which will never see the light of day.

It was a rollercoaster; there were some serious highs and lows.

Low: an editor telling me to find a new hobby after reading an excerpt of book one.

High: by book five, I’d figured out how to gain interest.

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3. Success may look different than envisioned

This post sounds like the warmup to a JK Rowling story. 

The part where I humble-brag how I’m not worthy, #blessed, after a massive contract. Instead, a visible payoff never came. No offers. At least not yet. 

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4. You may lose interest in former hobbies

For the last ten years, I had traveled the world racing IRONMAN, coaching, and turning what I loved into a career. My husband and I took over management of our triathlon club and started Energy Lab, a cycling and coaching studio. I wrote for triathlon publications, and turned my passion into a full-time career. 

Then I decided to pursue fertility treatments. Not just the take-a-pill kind, but the four egg retrievals in six months variety. Life as I knew it was upended. All the sudden, most of the ways I spent my time were off the table. 

No more six hour bike rides, or long runs in the summer heat. Even if I’d wanted to, the extra hormones made me so short of breath, it was pure misery. 

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I needed a new hobby and stat. Enter writing. 

A journalism major, I’d done a fair bit of writing, contributing to industry publications like Triathlete Magazine and Women’s Running. 

But fiction. That was something else entirely. And it definitely took up all of my now-free time and then some.

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5. Your first attempt[s] will suck

My first attempt at a full-length novel, which I chronicled in a recent Medium story, was a full-fledged disaster. It was half as long as it should have been, in a genre that didn’t exist, with a plot that made no sense. 

Need I go on?

I was naive enough to query that one [facepalm], but before long, I’d improved enough to start a new book.

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And trust me, if I ever contact those agents again, I will use a different email address.

6. You should definitely keep trying tho

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 Next, I wrote a women’s fiction novel. Then a romance. That’s three if you’re paying attention. 

During this same period of time, I’d gotten a contract for a narrative nonfiction, a part how-to, part inspiration for women who want to tackle their first triathlon. 

I looked at those first three books as “practice” for Courage to Tri. 

7. But your next attempt might suck, too

For my next [fourth] attempt at fiction, I set out to write a book that was publishable. This time I chose the thriller genre. I wrote it in a week and, as that feat suggests, it was again terrible. 

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But after four books, something had changed. When I looked back, I could see what was terrible. And I had ideas on how to fix it.

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I edited it, garnered feedback, and revised. Over an over again. And then it was…improved. I went to a few conferences, won a few pitch contests. I got to the point where my queries garnered a sizable number of requests. Some of those partial requests turned into full requests, too. 

In other words, I got better. Even though I still haven’t gotten a contract for fiction. At least not yet!

Was the experiment a failure? I’d say not. After all, if the point of writing isn’t to spread your message and get better —both of which I did in spades — than what is it?

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Here’s what I gained from writing more [besides really sore fingers].

Here are other benefits I experienced from all that rejection. You will undoubtedly experience these, too.  

9. I learned what good looks like

I didn’t know my first draft of my first practice book was terrible. I thought I had something new that had never been done. Right.

9. I became better at the collab

It’s possible I really just wanted to use that word.

Anyway, I once switched my major to avoid group work. I really dislike it. Although I’d expected writing to be a pleasantly solitary activity, it isn’t. In fact, I made dozens of amazing writer friends — plenty of ambitious, smart women also experiencing heart-wrenching rejection on a near-daily basis. 

10. I grew a thicker skin

On my first revision of my first book, I hired an editor from a freelancing site. She offered criticism so harsh, it stopped just short of “you should throw this out and never write another word.”

Sure, it stung a bit. But I also felt relief. The worst that could happen, did. And it wasn’t that bad. 

11. I stopped caring so much about what others think

In the beginning, I figured once you were rejected a couple of times, you were done. If say, five agents don’t like your book then you should burn it. Through my writer friends, I learned rejection is something to be celebrated. That you must achieve 100 rejections to consider putting aside a book. Also, that this shelving is rarely permanent. 

12.  I got better at putting myself out there

Although I want my work to be read, I also hate being the center of attention. It’s a weird quirk of being an INFJ. But once you feel silly a few times, you realize it doesn’t matter.

The world didn’t end if I had a goal of xyz but didn’t reach it. In fact, I could help others more by being real—and not [falsely] appear too be crushing everything all the time.

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Need encouragement for your author journey? Let me send you some! Drop your email to get my PDF manifesto for writers: The Mindset Fix: Keep Writing, Finish, and Submit.

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What’s different for 2019?

As a new mom of twins, I won’t have time or headspace to write half a million words this year. Still, what I do write will surely benefit from last year’s crash course. 

On, and the thirteenth thing I learned:

Courage to Tri did make it to some Barnes and Noble shelves, so in a way I’ve already met my goal. But even if my fiction never makes it to shelves, my resolve to keep chasing dreams has strengthened forever.

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Other ideas for your author journey:

• Social Media Platforms for Authors
• 21 ways to level up your author website
• Listen to your wip on the go with google docs
• Get Published Podcast- Using Pinterest to Build your Email List
• 21 Online Tools Writers Need to Make an Impact

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