The art of brewing great stories
Your writing journey is about to set sail, and like any grand adventure, it’s filled with excitement, challenges, and unknown hurdles that you’ll have to jump. Whether you’re crafting the next great bestseller, a compelling blog post for your website, or a quick guide on origami patterns for beginners, the process from the moment you type the first word until your work is ready for publication is an exciting but also challenging adventure.
So, fasten your seatbelt (and your pen cap), and let us guide you through the process of completing your first draft until it’s ready for publication and beyond. Along the way, we’ll give you tips and tricks, we’ll unveil a couple of secrets, and explain the importance of expert help in every step of the process:
Finishing your draft: finding your special creative sauce
It’s 11 a.m., and you’re sitting in front of your computer, already drinking your fifth cup of coffee, pondering a blank screen, waiting for your muse to come and visit you. The birds are chirping. The hours pass. It seems like she might not be coming today after all. Does this picture look familiar?
Everyone has had one of those magical moments when a brilliant idea suddenly comes flashing into your mind, perhaps while you’re in the shower or in the middle of a run. Those moments are like lightning bolts of inspiration and can be the start of a new and exciting literary adventure – as long as you’re able to capture and develop the idea before it gets away.
Tips and tricks to stay on track
Let’s dive into a series of tips and tricks that you can apply today to stay focused and bring one of those sparks of inspiration into a finalised draft:
Mind mapping
Mind mapping allows you to organize your thoughts and ideas in a visual way, which can be crucial to letting your creativity flow and turn a great idea into a finalized piece of writing. Creating a mind map of your project gives you the chance to connect concepts, simplify ideas, identify patterns, and improve the structure of your work, and it gives you a strong foundation upon which you can build your draft.
Overcoming writer’s block
You are not alone! Everyone has experienced writer’s block at some point, but there are ways to overcome it. Step away from your draft and recheck the timeline, go and enjoy Mother Nature’s company, practise a sport that you enjoy, or take a pause to listen to some music or read a book. Taking your mind off your manuscript when you’re struggling could be the best antidote to beat writer’s block and get your creative juices flowing again.
Collaborative brainstorming
More often than not, writing can be a lonely activity – sometimes, necessarily so, but there are crucial moments along the road when you might need a second pair of eyes or a good brainstorming session to get you back on track. Connecting with other writers in your area (or online) can have a very positive impact on your creative process and bring new ideas and inspiration.
Consistency is key
Setting a time of the day or a place to work on your manuscript is very important to train your brain to recognize the habit. And the more you do it, the more the ritual itself becomes a trigger for creativity, turning the simple act of sitting down to write into a natural, creative, and flowing process.
From draft to literary success
Congrats! You overcame every difficulty and finished your draft. You’ve now entered a new stage in your relationship with your draft. Before you progress to the next step, we’ll tell you a secret: Drafts are like messy first dates; they’re awkward, but also full of potential. In this section, we want to tell you all about solidifying your relationship with your draft beyond the first date to get it ready to be formally introduced to society.
Editing your own work is an essential step. You’ve spent hours adjusting the plot or the structure of your piece, thinking and rethinking every sentence, sweating over where to split every sentence and paragraph. And you like the result of all those long hours of work, but you’ve spent so many hours together that you cannot bring yourself to read the same paragraph again (and again… and again).
Self-editing can be daunting, and sometimes it can be painful to rip apart sentences and paragraphs that you spent so much time and effort crafting. Editing software like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor can point you in the right direction. Reading your work out loud or seeking feedback from others can also be very useful. Alternatively, you can put your draft in the hands of a professional copyeditor who will professionally edit your work in a relaxed and collaborative environment. Their role is to review and refine your writing, watching out for errors in consistency, grammar, spelling, and style, and making sure that your message is communicated effectively. If you want to know more, check out our copyediting service.
Professional proofreading is an essential stage in the process of getting a draft ready for publication. It’s the final polish that turns a rough diamond into the refined precious stone that will make heads turn. Every literary giant has their work proofread before it hits the shelves. At the end of the day, we are all human, and no matter how skilled we may be in the art of writing, everyone can make typos and overlook errors. A second pair of eyes is simply essential.
To achieve the high level of quality that your work deserves, you cannot make any concessions: your work needs to be proofread by a professional with a knack for grammar and an eagle’s eye to spot errors and inconsistencies. Don’t worry if you don’t already work with a trusted proofreader; this is one of the services we offer and we’ll be glad to help you with your project.
In the world of publishing, looks can be a killer. This is why making your work look good is utterly crucial. Can you imagine your readers squinting at a page because the font is so tiny it looks like little ants on a blank page or being shocked by unpleasantly large headings? Here’s our promise: We’ll make sure to save you the trouble of tiny fonts and huge headings (and misalignments, and double spaces…) by adding a pinch of typesetting enchantment to your draft. We’ll wave our typesetting wands to transform your document into a visual feast that will please the pickiest readers.
But typesetting is not only concerned with aesthetics. The ultimate goal is making the reading experience as pleasurable as possible. This is why we’ll harmonise the fonts, spacing, and layout of your entire manuscript to make it a joy to read and a pleasure to look at, making your stories even more appealing to your diverse audience.
You’ve just navigated the writing odyssey through choppy waters from the port to the final destination. It is now your turn to take it all in, take a good look at your screen, and put into practice everything that you’ve learned. The task now doesn’t seem so intimidating, right? When you’re ready, you can continue your journey with our guides on translation and marketing, where we explain why it’s important to have your book translated and promoted to achieve a global reach, and what are the steps to make it happen.
Do you feel like you need a hand? We’re here to support you in every step along the way to make your writing journey a breeze. From professional proofreading and copyediting to translation and typesetting, we’re here to ensure your success. Do you want to discuss your project with us? Contact us to book a free 30-minute consultation today.
