And Finally – I’ve Sent My Book To My Trusted Readers

Two years after first putting pen to paper and one month after finishing the second edit I have finally sent my novel to my four trusted readers. What took so long?

Starting the Compilation

I wrote the book as individual chapters, each in their own Word document. So my first task was to compile them all into one document.  Earlier on in the Editing process I’d decided to file the individual Chapters into three Folders directly related to the three Acts. So I decided to start the compilation in the same way and combine all the Act 1 Chapters into one document first. Breaking it down into three smaller tasks was helpful as there are 50 chapters and 92,500 words in total, a lot to manage. 

Tips on Formatting the Text

I knew there were some formatting issues in the text, such as how to show, inner thoughts, texts, quotes from other people, quotes from films or books, labels, signs, looks etc and I did some research to get some guidance. This link provided a lot of help.  https://theeditorsblog.net/2014/05/12/marking-text-choosing-between-italics-and-quotation-marks/

I think it’s an American source but I’m assuming all the rules are the same throughout the publishing world apart from the question of which quotation marks to use for dialogue, double or single. The American preference seems to be double for “dialogue” and  either single ‘dialogue’ or double “dialogue’ for English. I’m told the trick is to choose one style and stick with to throughout your book. 

As I began my compilation I was on the lookout for these corrections. I knew that I’d gone over the top in my use of italics so I particularly looked for those but as I went through each chapter I noticed other issues.

Tips on the First Chapter

I had recently received some writing tips in an email from the organisation that I did my two creative writing courses with two years ago. Start your book with a bang! The first line should feature the protagonist, the setting and a dilemma. The first page should set the tone for the book. If it’s a comedy write something funny, if it’s a thriller write something funny….. on the first page.

My book is a Rom Com and there are plenty of funny moments throughout. It’s not witty dialogue, more funny situations and I did have one such situation in the first chapter but was the punchline on the first page? No. I also had some drama in the first chapter and various dramatic situations throughout the book, my recipe for my Rom Com is a mix of fun and drama, just like real life.

I spent some time playing with the words but could I get a great first line? No. I then spent a lot of time rearranging the action and being more concise but could I get the first funny situation on the first page? No. It was taking far too long so I settled for an Average first line and the first funny punchline on page two. Nevertheless it took a while to deal with Chapter 1.

Continuing the Compilation

Naively, I thought it would be easier and quicker from chapter two onwards but I was wrong. As I skimmed through the other chapters, looking for italics I spotted repetition, dull descriptions, continuity errors and some sections that were still at the ‘just get it down on the page’ stage. I couldn’t believe that I’d missed all these things on the previous two edits, three if you count the script version. Of course, once seen I had to attend to them so the progress of compilation was slow. 

Two weeks later, when I finally reached the end of Chapter 50, I felt worn out but had the bit between my teeth. So I went straight into compiling the three ACTs into one word document. I made a new folder called The Whole Book. I was finally starting to feel excited. I work with an online Word platform so I downloaded the word.docx version. All Ok. Then I tried to download a PDF version. It refused point blank. I wasted a few hours trying to make it work then gave up. Too big I guess.

So I had to concede that The Whole Book would be presented to my trusted readers in three parts. The next quandary was whether to start each Chapter on a new page, to make it look like a real book. In my first compilation I’d just separated each chapter with a little squiggle and a few lines. The reason I did this was because three of my readers had requested paper copies.The fourth friend had offered to print them out at work for me as a favour and I was worried about trying to keep the amount of paper she would use to a minimum. 

Formatting the Whole Novel

I’d been advised that Times New Roman size 12 font was the one to use and that agents would want the manuscript double spaced. In that format it was 311 pages long. When I changed the spacing to 1.5 it brought the number of pages down to 228. In this format it was still easy to read on the screen. I then remembered being told that in an actual book the type would be set at 1.15 spacing. When I did this version the pages came down to 177 but it was quite dense text on the screen and I found it hard to read.

I preferred the 1.5 spacing version. I spent some time going through this version and starting each new Chapter on a new page which, took the pages count up back up to 248. I decided to ring my friend and explain the predicament. She answered without  hesitation. “Don’t worry about it. Start each chapter on a new page. Not a problem!”

It looked more like a real book but there were some chapters where there were only three or four lines on the last page and it seemed like a waste of paper. In some of the chapters I was able to go back through and edit out one or two words here and there in the dialogue to shorten line lengths that had overrun onto the next line by a few characters. Sometimes I just had to leave it as it was for fear of making a mess of things and was left with a document of 243 pages.

Preparing the Book to be Printed

The software was happy enough to let me download PDF versions of the individual Acts, which were each under 100 pages and I sent my novel off to my friend in three separate parts by email. She managed to do the printing and return the copies to me by post within three days. I then posted them off to my friends. 

Wow! What a feeling, a mixture of excitement, nerves, relief and worry. I was no longer writing a book, I had written a book. I really had written a book and sent it out into the world on it’s own, albeit only to four close friends. For a brief moment it reminded me of when my children left home to go and and start their own independent lives.

Feeling a Fraud?

So now I sit and wonder what to do with myself. I have a pile of computer back ups, sewing, cooking and accounting to do. I feel strangely free but a little lonely and then there is something else, that nagging doubt, the thought that I could be unveiled as a fraud. Who did I think I was, that I could write a novel? I remembered that this had come up in one of my creative writing courses but I could’t remember what advice had been given.

I recently took part in an online webinar on the same subject. It had been advertised as an Accelerating Women in Business event and I’d signed up with another project in mind. I was surprised when the whole of the first session was about The Imposter Syndrome. The participants were from a variety of business areas, all new start ups and all women.

After the introductions the participants were asked if they ever had this feeling a lot said yes. It seems it’s a common problem for men as well as women and surprisingly, even for those who’ve had some success in their chosen field. 

I didn’t know what to say… “maybe” came to mind. I’d never used that phrase about myself but I had been tormented over the years by what one Executive had said to me in my first job after leaving university.

I worked for ICL as a Customer Support Advisor to a Salesman who was responsible for the sales to the Head Office of British Aerospace. As part of my induction into ICL I’d been enrolled on various training courses including COBOL programming and the brand new Word Processing computers, which it turned out still had a lot of bugs in the software. 

It was my job to go down to the Customers premises to instruct the staff on how to use the new Word Processors. I was full of enthusiasm for my job and for the product but there were so many bugs it was often the case that I was not being able to solve their problems on site. 

The Executive in question was very unhappy, having laid out an enormous amount of money for the new Word Processors and finally snapped. “You’re just an enthusiastic amateur aren’t you.” All of their problems were eventually solved by the IT department back at ICL ,who regularly issued new versions of software with fixes for the bugs, but that phrase has haunted me my whole life.

Practical Tips to Deal with The Imposter Syndrome

So what did the recent webinar suggest we could do about our feelings of self doubt? When in doubt, remember your past successes and current achievements. Develop a supportive network. Think of something you’ve achieved recently that you’re proud of and talk about how this made you feel and the steps you took to make this happen. Own your successes and accept compliments. 

Understand your strengths and weaknesses by doing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). List eight qualities, talents, aptitudes, abilities, strengths and resources that you feel you have. Select one that makes you unique, gives you confidence. Think of how your friends and colleagues would describe you and pin down what motivates you.

The thing I remember most from the webinar are the examples of successful people who still feel the imposter syndrome when starting a new project or branching out into a new field. Apparently Albert Einstein, Beyonce and Sheryl Sandberg,COO of Facebook, suffer from this too. The trick is to go through the practical tips above replacing any negative thoughts with positive ones. After all we are what we eat and we are what we think.