7. On Writing Your First Book: What I Wish I Could Bottle and Gift to You to Help You Write It Faster

 "If there's one thing I always want to share with writers, it's that all the work has to get done. No beta reader, editor, or publisher is going to do it for you. You've got to do it. This is your book."

In this episode of Show, don't Tell Writing, Suzy dives into the challenges and techniques for writing your second book faster than the first. Suzy shares personal anecdotes, discusses common pitfalls, and offers practical advice to help writers speed up their writing process without sacrificing quality. She emphasizes the importance of understanding that every writer's journey is unique and highlights the significance of perseverance and consistent effort. 

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Intro and Outro Music is Daisy by Zight and used under a CC by 4.0 DEED Attribution 4.0 International license. For more music by Zight visit https://www.youtube.com/zight

Transcript

0:49

Welcome to Show Don't Tell Writing with me, Suzy Vadori, where I teach you the tried and true secrets to writing fiction and nonfiction that will wow your readers, broken down step by step. This show explores writing techniques and shows you a glimpse behind the scenes of successful writing careers and coaches writers live on their pages so you can learn and transform your own storytelling. Whether you're just starting out crafting, editing, or currently rewriting your first book or maybe even your 10th, this show will help you unlock the writing skills you didn't know you needed but you definitely do. I'm looking forward to helping you get your amazing ideas for From your mind onto the page in an exciting way for both you and your readers so that you can achieve your wildest writing dreams while having fun doing it. Let's dive in. If you're listening to this podcast, you've probably already written a book or you're trying to write your first book now. Either way, my goal with this episode is to expose some truths that will have you nodding your heads because you've experienced it too. And there's power in knowing that you're not alone in the challenges you face. Because let's face it, writing is basically a solitary activity, but it's one of the most difficult things you're ever going to tackle in your life. It's a huge accomplishment to finish a book or a draft, and I share a lot of lessons on this podcast that's going to help you skip that steep learning curve. And get you writing a book much faster. Today, I want to address writing speed because I had hauled this episode about writing books faster. Because what exactly is quote unquote good? What is fast? And what is slow? when it comes to writing a book. We writers, we're actually humans, and that's what makes the art that we produce so relevant to the world. It's, it's really, really awesome. And it's why I don't think AI will ever replace us, but we also play the comparison game. I could sit here and tell you that it doesn't matter how long it takes you to write your book. I could tell you that your novel will take as long as it takes, and it's fine if it takes you six months or six years. But, that's not going to feed your curiosity on whether you're doing it the same way as other people. So instead, I'm going to share a bunch of examples, because this podcast shares the straight goods, and the truth is that a non answer isn't really very helpful to you. My guess is, what you really want to know is how can you write it faster, that book that you're working on. And I'm going to answer that in this podcast today. You might actually be devastated to hear that your favorite book took the author 10 years to write. Or maybe that statistic gives you solace because you've been working on your grand novel idea for almost that long. It's all in your perspective. It took me two and a half years to write and revise my first book, to get it to the point that it was ready for readers. And then it was another two years to find my publisher and get it out into the world. Because I started writing my first novel on maternity leave, and then I went back to work full time, I actually worked with a book coach, which was a relatively novel idea at the time, to finish it. For me, the accountability and skills that I learned working with that coach was the difference between finishing that book or walking away and going back to work with a shrug saying, life was just too busy right now. I guess I'm not cut out to write a book. And I actually get chills thinking of where I'd be now if I hadn't figured out how to get it done, to push through, probably be jet lagged, sitting in a boardroom across the world. Cause that's what my job was before I started writing and editing full time. I'd be arguing about widgets or a percentage point at my corporate job. Because that book was the start of what led me here, talking to you today. And if I'd never written it, my life would be completely different. But my first book did get done. And I landed a traditional publishing deal with a small publisher. Remember, two and a half years to get it ready and two more years to find a publisher. That's four and a half years, right? My next book, book two in that series, I wrote in six months. Also while working full time. It was faster. Take care. Because there's something valuable that I learned that wasn't skill based that I'm going to share here today. I now coach other writers and I see this pattern of book two getting written much faster over and over and over again. It seems obvious, right? Well, yes, it's obvious, but not for the reasons you may think. Sure, by your second book, you've honed your technique and you've developed some hopefully good writing habits. I could talk to you on this podcast about sitting your butt in your chair every single day and typing. I could tell you to set word count goals, or make sure that you're writing every day, but that's not the secret. Because although lots of writers push these habits, and they might produce a lot of words, and you can set a goal and press publish when you're done. You wouldn't be listening to this show if that first draft, that one that you cranked out word after word was what you'd be proud to share with the world. It wouldn't be ready. Write Every Day is a great goal when you're first getting started, don't get me wrong. But I've seen time and time again that eventually there's gonna be a day that you can't write. Maybe because you have a headache. Or you're on vacation and, heaven forbid, you just forgot to write. Or maybe even your best friend, like, something awesome happened, like they threw you a birthday party, a surprise birthday party, and stole your evening of free writing time away from you. But eventually, there's gonna be a day that you can't write. And here's what I see happen. I've seen writers berate themselves for what they see as a failure to not write on that day. And then that one day somehow stretches into two, and then, what's the point, really? You know, can you even call yourself a writer if you don't write every day? I've heard people say this to me. Of course you're still a writer, because there's way more to writing a great book than just your word count. Tracking your word count, that is, how many words you've written, is a great indication of progress, by the way. Either how many words that you write in a sitting, in an hour, knowing how many words that you can write or type in an hour or a session is a great motivator. And it's a great way to plan. For me, an amazing pace is like somewhere between 000 words per hour. That's not my fastest pace, even though I'm a fast typer. But for others, it might be less or more. Whatever your pace, pay attention to the circumstances where you are able to achieve a great number, whatever that is for you, of words. Like, what time of day did you write? Where were you? If you can replicate those amazing moments where you produced a ton of words, replicate those circumstances as often as possible. So, for me, my most productive writing sessions are outdoors in the summer, or in a busy coffee shop or even a pub if it's too cold to write outside. Many writers share with me that they do really well at their desk and they think I'm nuts for all these other, what could be distracting places, but that's where I write best. Because at my desk, which is also where I work and edit for other people, everybody else's priorities come first. Pay attention to what works for you. When I was finally able to write and edit full time, I thought that I could maintain that pace, right? So when I was working, I would track, you know, I have a spare hour every other Saturday. It wasn't a lot of time. And so I had to pay attention to those, those word count goals. And plus I was on contract to deliver some books, right? In my series. And so I thought I could maintain that pace and just multiply it by the number of hours I dedicated to writing. But guess what happened? It Not that. I hadn't taken into account the planning and thinking time in between writing sessions that can't be rushed. I find the more time I let go between sessions, the better. Because when I finally sit down to write, it comes out in a stream built up in my mind. And sitting down more often isn't always the answer, at least not for me. It might be for you. Yet writers blogs and forums are riddled with advice for you to write faster. Everything from getting your word count in daily to using templates or formulas to fill in your structure. And following this advice may indeed make your first draft faster. But your first draft isn't the finished product, as much as you might want that very first draft to be. Ads or courses that claim you can write a book in 30 days make me absolutely crazy. Most people can't, because they need the planning and thinking time to let their ideas gel to make their books truly great. I do have author colleagues who have their draft and revision schedules down to a science. They write a book in six weeks, or they write a book in three months, right? And they share their methods. But, this rarely works on a first book, and here's why. Because the first time a writer sits down to write a book, they aren't counting on meeting resistance and all the arguments with their own brain. That's right, I'm basically saying that writers get in their own way when they write their first books. But let me explain, because in my years of coaching newer writers, I've been trying to wrap my arms around this concept, I would love to just remove this roadblock completely for writers. Usually exposing something as a truth starts by talking about it. So here I am today talking about it on the podcast, and if you're in this boat and you've met resistance, you can know that you're not alone. What do I mean by resistance? There's a time between completing a draft and knowing it's Your book is everything you'd hoped it would be. And. In that time, it becomes this murky space few writers ever talk about. We kind of shove it under the rug or something, or we're embarrassed about it, but it happens to everyone. Where, especially newer writers, get lost, okay? So you've written your first draft, you know it's not quite there yet, and then we get in this space, losing weeks, or months, or years, sitting in this doubtful limbo. Writing a first draft is a huge accomplishment, don't get me wrong. It's You'll know in your heart when it isn't ready for primetime. The idea of revisions can be daunting, overwhelming even, and when I found myself in this unexpected murky place when I was writing my first book more than a decade ago, I had All kinds of questions like, Okay, I'm being told my book quote unquote isn't ready yet by agents, editors, and publishers. How do I know what to work on? And should this be really obvious to me? Like, am I just really slow? Huh. I also thought things like, some of my favourite writers write books in three months or faster. I heard them talk about it at the conference. Why can't I do that? I also had thoughts like, my gut is telling me I need to rip the whole book apart and then put it back together again to make it what I want, but do I really have to do that? Or, if my draft isn't perfect, does this mean I don't have what it takes to be a writer? That was a scary one, and one that I hear from writers all the time. Am I really good enough to do this? Is this my time? Maybe some of these questions resonate with you, whether your first book is now behind you, or you're still waiting through. And so, I spun my wheels, and I looked for answers. And everything I dreamed writing a book would be was, like, kinda shiny, right? In my ideal world, words would flow, accolades would follow, and none of the writers I followed glorified the thousands of hours it might take, the deep focus I'd have to learn, or the number of times I might have to tweak my scenes until I got all my ideas on the page the way I wanted them. People just don't talk about it. It's kind of like, I liken it to having a child where, you know, I went through childbirth three times. And then you kind of forget and you do it again. We just don't talk about this space, but when you're in it, it feels so real and it feels like nobody else went through it. But maybe it's a good thing that nobody talks about it because I know that maybe if I truly known it was going to take me years to write that first book and tons of failure, then I might never have started. I gotta admit, where it all led to and the career that I have now has been completely worth the effort. So with Perseverance as my guide, I chipped away at what I knew in my heart needed to get done on that draft, piece by piece, because I was determined that my book wouldn't see the light of day until it was ready. Only way to get my messy first draft into shape was to push through and do the work as much as I wanted to find a shortcut. I honed my craft. I took courses, I took workshops, I sought out the best editors I could find and afford, and I learned. And I took a lesson from my career as a business executive that helped me more than anything else in this process. I made a list. of all the things that I knew needed to get done and they started to knock off items one at a time. Whether they were mechanical or new writing, there was all kinds of things I knew had to get done. And instead of sitting around, I started doing them. Because it all has to get done. Brains are funny. Our brains are funny because they spend time wondering if you really have to do the work. And this is the part that you can cut out that will make your drafting faster. Your brain might noodle on a shortcut, trying to figure it out, is there one? They ask for a second opinion, a third opinion, an umpteenth opinion. They resist. Your brain will actually distract you with thoughts like Huh, will readers notice if I don't fix that plot hole? Let me tell you, they will. Or your brain might say, ugh, I know there's errors, but that's what editors are for, right? Well, yeah, but take the book as far as you can on your own to make sure that your editors are spending time taking your book to the next level, not just correcting the basics. Sometimes, your brain might even say, Oh, I know I should work on my character's arc, but it's good enough. Okay, if you can see the issue as the writer, readers are going to feel it when they don't connect with your character and your book won't hit them the same way. In my line of work, I witness a lot of time and energy spent in this resistance and your brain asking you these questions. Or asking me, your book coach, these questions. Right? Do I really have to do the work? And there's much less time spent on the work that needs to get done. I was and I still am immensely proud of that first book that I wrote, The Fountain, which went on to sell thousands of copies and win awards. But most importantly, I heard from my tween and teen readers that the book affected them. That they shared it with their friends. That it, that it might have been the first book that they ever finished all the way through. That they read it twice. That's all I ever wanted. But when I sat down to write book two in that series, I assumed it would be way faster. Because I'd learned a lot, right? After all, I'd already created the world and I created the characters, and that was the hard part, right? So book two was going to be a breeze. Oops, I was totally wrong. It was faster, but it wasn't a breeze because guess what? I'd already created the world. And I'd already created the characters, and I found I needed way more content for Book 2 than I expected. So an outline that served me for Book 1, where I was developing the world and its characters, I made a similar sized outline, and then I sat down to write Book 2, and I realized I couldn't just rehash all of that. And I had to invent more things, right? Change locations, add new characters, add a new perspective, all of those things. So, how did I still write that book much faster? This is the secret sauce that I wish every first time author could know. In their bones, I wish they could know it. And I've since dedicated my book coaching practice to help these writers get through that murky middle time. Because by the time I got to writing book two, I understood in my bones just how much work I was going to have to put into this book to make it exactly what I wanted. way more than my shiny, glossy, fancy idea of what it was going to be to write a book that I learned in Hollywood or from Facebook ads that say that I can write a book in 30 days or from, you know, very famous authors who are writing book 30 and they can do it in six weeks. Now, my brain still tried to throw up roadblocks, mainly in the form of distractions that kept me from writing. Like, The Netflix series I'd rather binge watch, or getting snacks, lots of snacks, or even the housework or filing my taxes that was waiting for me. But while writing book two, I no longer looked for shortcuts or worried that I wasn't going to make it as a writer because I couldn't do it faster. I didn't wonder if I was writing everything wrong. Just put down one word at a time and then tackled one revision task at a time. Until it was done. And I was able to cut out that murky, wallowing phase that eats up so much time. I now work with writers on first books all the time, and I love it. And if there's one thing that I always want to share with them, it's that all the work has to get done. No beta reader, editor, or publisher is gonna do it for you. You've got to do it. This is your book. So plan for it and chip away at it until your book is exactly what you want it to be and don't stop until you get there. Writing a book is an immensely complex undertaking and we make it even more complicated by bringing all our hopes and fears and expectations and The messages that we want to share with the world to the table. It might take you a moment to find your stride, but you're going to. Once you complete your first book, you'll be part of the club because you'll know how to do it again, and again, and again. And you might even look back and wonder what the heck you were thinking that you could get all your ideas organized in any other way than what you ended up doing. In any other faster way. If you're writing your first book right now, I wish I could stuff the feeling of completion and the knowledge of what it's going to take into a bottle and I'd give it away freely to every writer I met. So that you could tell your resistant brain to stop trying to say to you, writing a book should be easier or faster. Writing is hard. That's partly why you're tackling it, remember? Truthfully, if I handed you this little bottle of knowledge to drink, I doubt you'd drink it. Because sometimes the best lessons are the ones that you learn for yourself. And neither I nor any other author who shares her process with you can learn that for you. You're listening to this podcast now and you're learning. So I can say with confidence that you've got this. Keep going. It's worth it. You're going to get there. If you're working on a draft and you find yourself stuck in that resistance phase in the Merc, I'll drop a link to a free guide to next steps in the show note to help you move your book forward. Once you know what needs to get done, then knock off one step at a time. Knock off each of those tasks on your list until you've got a book that you're proud of and you haven't left anything out. You haven't left anything saying, huh, readers won't notice, will they? They will, but don't stop moving. Or let your brain shame you into thinking that there's a faster, better way, or you'll land in the time sucking murk. Do what you can to skip over the part where you doubt if you're doing it right, and dive in with full gusto. Because once you've written your first book, and gone through this path of resistance, coming out with a book ready to publish on the other side, I'm going to put money on the fact that you'll get to the end of your second book, too, and that you'll write it faster than you did your first. Thanks for tuning in to Show Don't Tell Writing with me, Suzy Vidori. Help me continue to bring you the straight goods for that book you're writing, planning to write. Please consider subscribing to this podcast and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify or wherever you're listening. Also visit suzyvidori. com period slash newsletter to hop on my weekly inspired writing newsletter list to stay inspired and be the first to know about upcoming training events and writing courses in my community. If you're feeling brave, check the show notes and send us a page of your writing that isn't quite where you want it to be yet for our show. Don't tell page review episodes. Remember that book you're writing is going to open doors you haven't even thought of yet. I can't wait to help you. You're feeling called to write that book? Keep going, and I'll be right here cheering you on. See you again next week!