The wannabe writer needs to ask an important question: “Am I prepared to never have such a thing as spare time again?”

Most writers work part time if not full time at normal everyday jobs just like anyone else and always will. Some writers will be successful enough to give up the day job, but a portion will never quite have the courage to strike out and leave that feeling of security. Other writers find themselves at home full-time, and for whatever the reasons will use that time pursuing the career of which they’ve always dreamed.

Working at a day job or not, there can still be demands on time — home, family, friends… hell, just trying to have a life. I advise balancing all these requirements. The writer who dives into nothing but work can burn out. I’ve come close and seen it happen to others. Trying to do too much can make it almost impossible to do anything.

Everyone needs some time off. That includes writers. The trouble with that idea is the one thing many writers struggle to do is to throw that switch off in their heads to ‘no thinking about work’. And by that, I don’t mean whether an editor’s got back with a yes or no yet or whether the latest edits will be tear-inducing. It can be very difficult not to think about the work in progress or even the next. Even when a writer has reached an aimed for quota if the work is flowing it’s hard to step away from the keyboard to think about such things as making dinner or going to bed and sleeping.

Another way to phrase the same question is: Am I prepared to work on the weekend? By that, I don’t just mean writing. Writing is no longer the creation of a story, sending it out there, sitting back, doing nothing but thinking of the next big project. There’s the writing (which can be difficult enough), the research, the submission process, working with an editor, gearing up for a release date, the marketing. All of which takes time. Time will soon be a precious commodity. And even if the writer becomes one of the lucky few who streamlines everything and discovers the right marketing that works, the creation process — those little voices in one’s head — can speak up when least convenient.

I’ve discovered that for many in the publishing industry — writers, cover artists, editors, company owners… Whether they have offices that shut the doors on the weekend or not, often they take work home with them. They may work from home — many businesses can survive electronically these days — but no matter how wonderful working from home sounds it can require far more discipline. Many in publishing work seven days a week.

There are those who insist they won’t work on the weekend, but it’s necessary to resolve such a decision. Even then, deadlines wait for no one. If the work is impossible to complete without working on a day ‘off’ then it’s important to prepare to work even at short notice. The writer soon realises that, just as with many day jobs, the only true way to ‘get away’ is to head off to somewhere isolated and take no electronic devices — just make sure the publisher knows the M.I.A. dates to avoid the court-martial.

Time off? I’m betting the writer will find it impossible not to take a notepad and pen to jot down those ideas that pop up during a conversation, at dinner, when lying in the bath, in the middle of the night. Become a writer and it doesn’t end, and if there happens to be a few quiet hours, for many being idle will never feel right again, will feel downright unnatural. For even if when the writer completes all the editing, the marketing’s sorted, there are stories that require telling… and a small nagging voice will ask why you aren’t busy writing them.

Writing for a hobby is one thing. In publishing prepare to be busy. Prepare to be self-disciplined.

When my first novel came out, one of my first ‘reviews’ was a less than warm with approval private message from a reader. This person claimed the book wasn’t bad for a first novel —  the best thing the reviewer said. I’ve since discovered that such communications are not unknown, although I and many authors wonder why a reader wants to contact an author to give them a bad day.

Fine, any number of books make even me grind my teeth. They deserve a few of the negative reviews which stop others wasting their money because it’s an amateur author and/or amateur publisher. Saying that, I admit not all of my past writing has been exemplary but I wrote according to demand and learned. My writing has seen vast improvements mostly from various editing experiences. An equal number of those books are in mainstream publishing and on bestseller lists. It’s a grey area one might say. Therefore, most books I dislike I choose not to review — I realise  the story may not suit me but someone else may enjoy it immensely. I wouldn’t contact an author with anything but praise or a sensible comment. Even constructive critique (critique not criticism — a subtle but important distinction) can be subjective and questionable. It’s all ‘opinion’.

I also accept the book isn’t ‘my’ book. There’s no point writing to an author saying one doesn’t like how the book ended. If a reader only likes books with happy endings, there’s no point to rile against every book that doesn’t have one. Better to read with more care, or write the books one prefers to read. One thing I love J.K.Rowling said was she’s not taking dictation.  The work is the author’s vision, not the reader’s.

Or is it?

There were changes to my first novel. Some occurred because the publisher wanted a series from an envisioned one-off novel. I’m not complaining. I loved my characters and we’ve had a long and happy relationship. Some changes I wasn’t so sure of, but they were small and we compromised. Other changes didn’t happen, but with hindsight I would love to re-work the stories one day. The fact remains when a reader reviews a book they’re not only judging the work of the author, but often an entire team of people the author has worked with. I found that first ‘review’ frustrating, not because the reader didn’t relish my story (it was MY story, not hers and I still feel much of the problem was the reader wanted more sexual content) but because some things the reader complained of weren’t down to me. Sometimes, the failure (or success) of a book isn’t down to one person.

A team of people have looked over the manuscript and the synopsis and decided whether they want to handle a story before it ever gains acceptance. Then the writer will work with an editor, and perhaps a line editor and proofers. These may give input. Their jobs are to catch weaknesses in the story, plot holes, typos, spelling and grammar errors. Even those small things can cause problems. For example, British spelling and grammar differs to that of the US (a subject for another blog). On top of all the ‘rules’ individual opinions creep in, as does house-style. I’ve had editors who want speech to be grammatically correct, when that’s one thing that shouldn’t be unless it’s for specific effect. I’ve had editors who do or don’t like contractions. Editors who wouldn’t allow me to use a perfectly acceptable piece of punctuation because the person didn’t like it.

But…but…but the book belongs to the author, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t the author decide these things, or at least negotiate? Yes, but most contracts will state the final decision lies with the publisher. When contracting a book the title may be up for change. The author may or may not get to approve cover art. The author seldom if ever owns the cover art. Once the book is out of print, be it paper or digital, often the writer can no longer display said cover art. As for the story… Fact: many publishers will let a writer know along with the offer of a contract what changes to the story the publisher wants to create a publishable book — to ‘fit’ their market. Many won’t. Often, the writer signs blind, and then waits with bated breath.

Even if the publisher specifies edits, that doesn’t guarantee an editor won’t cut lines and paragraphs, doesn’t guarantee he or she won’t cut whole chapters. Sometimes, the writer can complain and negotiate. This should involve give and take on both sides…but, remember, the publisher has final decision. With or without previous agreement they can make huge changes to books. If the publisher decides a chapter needs to go, whether they’ve forewarned the author, the chapter goes. If they want an additional character or one removed or altered, then it happens.

Saying that, any ‘good’ publisher will do its best to negotiate and compromise. They will explain why they feel the book needs the changes. Often, the reasons make sense. It’s painful for an author to have someone point out a weak spot in a work, but if the editor can support the argument, the author can grumble (quietly) and then yield to good sense. Sometimes the author cannot see or doesn’t agree with those reasons. I’ve had edits made to books that may best serve the publisher’s market, but don’t serve my intention behind the story. This is where creativity and business clash.

The writer wants to create. The publisher wants to sell. So does the writer, but the story is all important to the writer unless they are writing purely for commercial reasons. A publisher will follow the market trends, see what sells best, and follow those leads, accepting and altering work to gain the most sales. This is often why many manuscripts get rejected, regardless of the writer’s brilliance. A writer also needs good timing. There’s no point writing a zombie novel when vampires are all popular and vice versa. Some books must await the right time and market. Sometimes a perfect market doesn’t exist, and it’s a case of tweaking a story to fit one that does.

It’s in the best interests of the writer to get in writing an indication of what edits the story will undergo before signing a contract. It’s in the best interests of the publisher to provide these. A publisher is nothing without its writers, and should a writer have a bad experience the publisher can guarantee to receive no more works from that source. Some publishers don’t care — there are plenty of people out there who want to write — but in this era of the internet and information exchange bad reputations can stick.

Ted often has good videos to do with writing. This one may seem a little basic but touches on fundamental structure in a tangible way.