Five Things I Wish I'd Known.

It was Christmas 2016. I had been out of work for six months, and our finances were still looking good. I was approached by someone in my church wondering if I would like to join them in their care home ministry. He had heard me give a talk at a carol service and thought I would be a good fit. It seemed like a great opportunity to help in a worthwhile area.

But even as I said I would pray about it, I didn’t feel right, and the feeling only increased as the days went by. When he came back to me in the New Year, I gave him my answer.

“What do you want to do instead?” he asked.

I didn’t hesitate. The words were out of my mouth before I even registered them. “I want to be a writer.”

My childhood passion. My teenage dream. My aborted attempt in my twenties that got shelved for marriage and motherhood. My fan-fiction stories in my forties that stopped after my husband had a stroke, and I had to work full time. The one thing I yearned to do and had pretty much given up on.

“Have you met Becky?” he asked. “She’s just about to publish her first novel.”

I knew Becky Waterman by sight, but we had never spoken. I plucked up the courage to introduce myself. I tentatively explained that I’d like to be an author, too. She agreed to meet with me and chat over coffee and cake. So began one of the most valuable friendships in my writing career.

I look back at the woman I was and smile. I had no idea what an epic journey I was about to embark on. The highs and lows. The frustrations and fears. The joy and despair.

Fast forward eight years, and I have learnt so much. So, what do I wish I had known then that would also be helpful for anyone starting their own journey today?

1.        There is a massive community out there who are ready and waiting to open their arms and welcome you into the fold. Get on social media. Join groups for writers and start making connections. Build relationships. Ask questions. Swap manuscripts. Celebrate with them when they succeed and commiserate when they experience problems. They are just like you.

2.        There are loads of free seminars, videos, crafting advice, and teaching summits which are online and available for you to watch or take part in.  Look out for genre specific weeks from ProWriting Aid. I would also recommend signing up for Daniel David Wallace’s emails – he does several summits a year with a different focus each time. You will learn a huge amount. Not all of it will work for you, but many of the things they suggest will be really helpful.

3.        Your first draft is not your greatest work. Neither is the second or the third. In fact, be ready to revise and edit and rewrite again and again. This can feel heartbreaking to begin with, because you pour so much of yourself into each page. It can often feel more like destroying your story, but I promise, it will be a better book because of it. My first book, Master and Apprentice, was my baby. The first in a trilogy, I had reached the point of sending it off to agents without any joy. During covid, I decided to do a big edit. By this time, I had learnt much more about my craft and wanted to see if I could improve the story further. A friend printed the whole manuscript out, and I pulled out a red pen and started. I crossed out paragraphs, scenes, whole pages. I wrote notes in the margins. By the time I finished, I wondered if I would even have a story left! Yet it was the best thing I ever did. I pruned it right back, which allowed new thoughts and ideas to grow, resulting in a much better story.

4.        You are going to have to stop at some point. Some people spend their lives trying to perfect that book that has been driving them to write. They might keep tweaking the first paragraph or chapter and never write the rest. They might write the draft but spend the rest of their time trying to make it better and never get published. There comes a point when you have to say, I’ve done the very best job I can. I have edited and edited and can’t do any more. I need to declare this finished and move on. I published Master and Apprentice in 2022, after four and a half years of work. I needed to move on to other stories. Since then, I have published four more books, and I have another six or seven in various stages of readiness. My later works would never have happened if I had remained locked in a cycle of perfection, which, by the way, can never be achieved. I look back at that first book now, and yes, I would change it. I have continued to learn and grow in my work. But at the time, it was the very best I could do. Be like Elsa. Let it go.

5.        Not everyone will like your book. But some people will love it. Now, I have to confess; I haven’t yet had that terrible moment when you receive a one-star review which lambasts your beautifully crafted and much-loved story. I did receive a two-star rating for one of my books, and despite thinking I was ready for it, I found myself spiralling down a rabbit hole of self-loathing. After four days, the rating disappeared, and a shiny new five-star review took its place. Hopefully, after that experience, I’ll be more prepared when the inevitable bad comments start coming now. Think of your absolute favourite book or movie. I can guarantee that there will be negative write-ups somewhere. It will pick holes in it. Complain about the style or pacing or vocabulary. Lambast the characters and the plot. They will hate it.They are entitled to their thoughts and have every right to say how they feel. Please try not to take it personally. Instead, focus on all the positive comments and reviews. Write your stories for those people. They will love it.

I hope that encourages you and gives you some ideas and things to think about. If you are an aspiring writer with questions, I am more than happy to connect. Look me up on social media or send me an email.

Becky Waterman is on Substack. Her author website is http://www.rlwaterman.com