Brass Tacks of Book Writing
…How I organised my time to finish a massive project
The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale, my debut memoir, has been out in the UK for a few weeks now (available here!).
I wanted to share with you the nuts and bolts of how I tackled writing a book, literally how I attacked the towering task of generating all the material and finishing the book.
PHASE 1: THE VOMIT DRAFT
Aug - Oct 2019
I started writing in earnest in early August 2019. Because the book was based on my solo show, I spent time working on a structure (think post-its all over my walls) before I got to work on my VOMIT DRAFT.
The VOMIT DRAFT is a draft where you just get the thing out of your brain and onto the page with NO PRESSURE for it to be good (and for me, no pressure to even write in sentences).
Using the post-its covering my office wall as my guide, over 90 days, I gave myself the task of 1000 words per day. My rule was that I could go over if I was in the flow, but any overrun didn’t count towards the next day’s quota.
I tried to do my writing first thing after waking up, but if I had other things to do, I’d do it later. I write in silence – sometimes to really sad music, but nothing with prominent lyrics.
NO ONE saw the vomit draft.
PHASE 2: CLEANING UP THE VOMIT
November 2019 - January 2020
Once I'd got everything down on the page, I printed it out, and edited it with a pen. Then I implemented all the changes in the word doc. I like this two-step process because it gives me a second pass. I turned non-sentences into sentences, moved things around, re-wrote chunks and filled in narrative holes.
I was aiming to edit 10 pages a day, I found it easier to work about 3 hours each day, 7 days a week.
Once I had it completed that, I printed the draft out and did the process again, addressing gaps in the plot, re-arranging material, making cuts and cleaning it up.
I was aiming for 3 hours per day, but by January 2020 I was doing 6, 8 sometimes 10 hours on it, just trying to wrangle the draft into a shape that I felt okay sending to my editors. When I'd finished, I sent it off.
PHASE 3: BIG EDITS
April - July 2020
The editors came back to me with notes a month later, and then the pandemic happened. I didn’t touch the book again until April 2020…
In April, I re-structured the book (adding a chapter in the middle and another one at the end). And through addressing their notes, I ended up adding 40k words to the manuscript over these months.
I worked on it about 3hours per day but 5-6 days a week this time. I sent off that draft in July.
PHASE 4: Editing Process with Publisher
September - November 2020
In the next part of the process, I worked with an editor at Hodder (my publisher), who read the book and made notes and edits in the word doc. Then I either accepted her edits or not, and made changes based on her suggestions.
We went through that process twice. This was very chaotic timing because I was also teaching my beloved Solo Show Creation Lab, and so rather than measured 3 hours per day sessions, I was blitzing it in fits and starts (NOT FUN).
In November I worked with a copy editor for a couple weeks who looked at the book with a fine-tooth comb, making sure the timelines added up and that details were consistent. We passed the draft back and forth. She’d ask me questions and make suggestions and we’d figure out solutions.
I found this part very scary ask I hadn’t realised that my opportunity to change more than a word here and there would be over after this process.
PHASE 5: FINAL TOUCHES
December 2020 - January 2021
Around Christmastime the pages of the book were sent to me in a huge package. These were the 'typeset' pages, which means we were no longer working with a word doc. A graphic designer had laid out each page, as it would appear in the book. I had several weeks to go through and mark any word replacements I wanted to make.
I found this part really fun. So interesting to see what words I’d used a lot and figuring out what to replace them with was an enjoyable challenge. For this I was able to return to a methodical way of working, attacking a chapter each day for two weeks.
And then I typed up all my changes with the page and line number and a person at the publisher put them into the draft. At the same time a proofreader was reading the book and making changes.
I’m obsessed with figuring out systems to help me work more efficiently and through the process of this book, there were times where I was NAILING it and times where I was floundering.
Without fail, I had LONG days (like 12-14-16 hours) leading up to every single deadline, no matter how consistent and diligent I’d been – perhaps something about control!? – or perhaps part of the learning curve with a book?! A book is truly something you cannot cram or do last minute. It's an exercise in endurance and showing up for yourself day-after-day-after-day.
TLDR!?
(too long didn't read)
Let me summarise! If you’re working on a big, huge project, I highly recommend:
Implementing a daily word count quota for writing a vomit draft
Implementing a daily page count quota when you reach the editing phase
Go for daily logged hours on the project when the quotas aren’t as useful (don’t start with 3! Start with 10 or 20 minutes and work up to 3. Anything after 3 I find starts to be diminishing returns)
Experiment and figure out what auditory environment let you write most freely and stick to ‘em
Establish deadlines with other people to keep a fire under your bum
Go for a walk EVERYDAY
Thank you for being part of the journey with me!!