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Going back through old blog posts, I saw my estimates of my progress in a post written two years ago.
I know I sound like a broken record about Evernote, Asana and Scrivener, but near with me. With all the work I’ve done recently on learning to edit – something Writer’s Digest has precious few videos on – and my decision to try Asana in the Trello style, and setting up a system for editing, I discovered…
My books were anything but publish ready.
This teaches me some hard and fast rules.
- NEVER submit your novel until it is DONE. Sound like a “Duh” statement, right? It’s not. Think again. Do you know WHEN your book is done? Until you do, you don’t know it’s done. More people have destroyed their chances for a writing career by writing a book, poking at it a little, get bored and submit it. “It’s ready.” “No, it’s not.” And your first impression is shot.
- Know how to edit your novel. February of this year taught me that most writers have absolutely no idea how to edit. No clue. Considering how few books and videos are available on this, it’s understandable. I’ll probably be writing a non-fiction book on how to edit a book. The irony is, I’ll have to edit it.
- Have a system or process for editing. It’s really hard to forget that “step 3” is after “step 2”. If you have a system or process you go through EVERY TIME, editing your novels will go quickly.
- Have a method for charting progress. I’ve bored everyone by babbling about Trello and Asana ENDLESSLY. I’m gonzo about it right now, because it WORKS. I can see progress, instead of a vague, ephemeral “someday”. I know exactly where I am on the process of having four books ready to publish. And I’ve made an additional step of deciding to self publish ONE book, to get something out there that people can buy. So, now I need to have a dedicated system for charting THAT. Your system should go all the way to “Book release party”. Learn to celebrate the end of a massive project, and editing your novel is just that! The work is not done until the book is on the shelves.
- USE the systems you’ve designated to edit your novel. This goes back to my first rule of everything – Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan. If you don’t do that, you don’t get ANYWHERE. Having a system doesn’t guarantee success. USING the system ensures success.
- Set Deadlines. No deadlines, a project is dead. If you don’t put deadlines on a step, you’ll procrastinate and watch funny cat videos on YouTube. Put a deadline. Forbidden word edit? Set a 2 week deadline. Filter word? Same thing. Set a deadline, or the project is dead.
- Actually chart your progress! It’s one thing to buy a Daytimer, it’s another to use it. Asana and Trello are great tools, but if you don’t use them, they do no good.
Conclusion
Proper Planning prevents poor performance – but only if you work the plan. Get it done. Write your book, edit it, have systems in place, and GET PUBLISHED!
