Big Sky Lake is coming out Dec.15. It’s my sixth full-length novel. If I’m lucky, it’ll be the start of a series of stories set in the not-exactly-real town of Big Sky Lake, Montana. I’ve been asked a few times about how I write and publish my stories and the answer has changed a lot over the years.
In this blog post I’m going to share how I wrote and published Big Sky Lake and what tools I used.
Where my ideas come from
Every book idea starts with a character. I know who my protagonist will be at the beginning. They are the one who will be forced into a journey or relationship that they may or may not wish to pursue. The ideas for what to throw in their way come from my everyday life or things I’ve never seen written before. I read other books annoyingly slow because my mind wanders to my work-in-progress novel and I need to write down ideas that have zero to do with what I’m reading, but it sparks creation, which is fun.
My Post-it notes with random ideas.
I typically start a novel by writing a one-page document that summarizes the key stuff that will happen in the book. She does this and then that, which causes X to happen, then angers Y . . . stuff like that. There is usually a large gap between the idea and the end of the story. I also like Post-it notes. When I get a good idea, I write it on an actual note and tape it (they fall otherwise) to a white paper on my office wall/door. Will I use all those ideas? No. But they are comforting for when the page is blank.
For Big Sky Lake I wanted a story about a famous woman, returning to her roots in a small town and finding romance. I decided that she was a Hollywood actor and used the skills and issues that job provided to guide where the story went. I was intentional about how I described the town of Big Sky Lake because it’s an incredibly versatile setting that can host plenty of stories to come.
A screen grab of Scrivener, the long-form writing tool I used for Big Sky Lake. This is just my template view.
The tools and process I used to physically draft the novel
I used the software Scrivener for Big Sky Lake. It’s a long-form writing tool that took many of my independent processes and consolidated them down into one interface. I tested using Scrivener on The Day After You Die (about 11,000 words) before diving into a full novel. I have built character and setting profile templates and complete them when I meet a new character. Full disclosure, I usually veer heavily from my initial draft, but the start of them is in the template.
Each chapter includes an index card template which is basically my guide for that chapter. I set a word count goal (around 2,000 words. which I usually beat by a lot). Each card includes the basic summary of what will occur in that chapter, what the conflict will be and how it might be resolved. This is a basic chapter structure. Again, I veer from the draft a lot, but it gets me started.
I usually try to outline about three chapters ahead of where I’m currently at. Then I’ll write to that point and do it all over again at least for the first draft. Big Sky Lake took two years to get into its final form, but writing the first draft was about four months.
I write in the mornings before my real job, weekends or at night. I hate missing family time, so I’ll rarely lock myself away from the world just to work on my little hobby.
Rewriting is real and takes time
One of my journalism professors at Gonzaga told me once, “Just because you wrote it down, doesn’t mean it’s any good.” Yeah, rewriting is a thing.
After I finished the first draft of Big Sky Lake in Scrivener, I re-wrote it again on a second pass through. This is not a full rewrite when major changes occur. I write slow enough that I’ve adapted to do the big stuff in the first run through.
ProWritingAid is a tool to assist with grammar and style.
I utilize ProWritingAid for the first editorial check after the second draft is done. This is handy, but it’s a machine and just like me (not a machine), it gets it wrong a lot. This aid is useful but lags when it comes to literary voice. Despite features that let you fine tune it, it will still expect your grammar to be top notch. Well, an authentic voice doesn’t always come with proper grammar. It gives you reports to work from, and I think they are helpful but only to a point. Recently ProWritingAid added an AI helper, which I have not used yet.
ProWritingAid and Scrivener are integrated so you can use the editing tool on your actual written document.
I end my relationship with Scrivener on the third draft. I dump the document into Word and put it on my iPad or Kindle to read like a reader would experience it, then take notes and make fixes. This is where my original notes and edits from Scrivener look nothing like the finished product. I wish I had the time to document and make everything feel the same but, no.
For Big Sky Lake I let the novel sit untouched for over a year before showing my beta readers.
Alpha and Beta readers; trusted advisors
When I feel like it’s an actual book, I give it to people I trust. My wife Kellie is an alpha or first reader. She read Big Sky Lake almost 18 months ago. Is it the kind of book she normally reads? Not in the slightest. But she gives me the first round of feedback.
My friends Jessie and Emily were beta readers and read Big Sky Lake about two months ago. Jessie’s been looking at my stories for years. This was Emily’s first time. My mom also read it recently too because I want my mom to read my stuff! It’s validation, people. And she’s always nice to me.
My trusted advisors each give very different feedback, of which I try to incorporate as much as possible. For Big Sky Lake I added a few missing scenes that left questions. I also made major corrections for grammar and editing because I didn’t see key errors, even after multiple drafts.
Editing is rough for an independent writer
Mistakes happen. I write those mistakes and I own them. I’ve only hired a professional editor for one novel – An Agreement We Made. The prose of that book greatly improved, but in all transparency, it was really expensive to hire an editor and I’m not making money publishing a book. I’d prefer to at least break even. With the tools I’m using to publish, if an egregious mistake is revealed, I can easily fix it even after the fact. Reviews that trash indy writers for little grammatical mistakes are really frustrating. So, the book was 80,000 words, but you make a couple errors with your commas, so you’re a terrible writer. Nah, I don’t buy it. It’s about economics, not talent.
The dashboard for Big Sky Lake on Amazon’s KDP - the author side.
I use Kindle Direct Publishing exclusively
I published Off the Grid in 2011 when self-publishing ebooks was fairly new. I actually submitted it to several literary agents and got mini bites of interest before deciding to go it alone and take advantage of the ebook craze over a decade ago. I’ve always used Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), but have also used B&N Press, Ingram Spark (barf), Draft2Digital and Smashwords. There are pros and cons of each.
Nobody questions that Amazon is king of independent (and establishment) publishing. Something like half of all sales happen on Amazon in the US. Kindle and the Kindle App are juggernauts in independent publishing.
All that said, I went “wide” last year because I wanted to try something new. So, all of my books were available anywhere you might buy a book, or more accurately and ebook. This meant I was in some libraries, which is super cool and got sales from all over the world. But there’s a tradeoff. As an independent author, you must be exclusive to Amazon to be included in Kindle Unlimited, and to utilize their sales and marketing tools. So, when 90% of my sales are on Amazon, the math isn’t too hard to do. So, I removed all of my back list (older books) and am now exclusively with Amazon again. Amazon KDP makes publishing super easy.
People love paperbacks
My novels are all print-on-demand. That means they don’t get printed until you order one. First it was CreateSpace who did this – way back in 2011 with Off The Grid. Amazon owned the company and eventually just folded it into KDP.
So, when you buy Big Sky Lake later this month, it’ll be freshly printed just for you! Ah, that new book smell!
The benefit here – no inventory. I don’t want to lug around boxes of books or handle the sales process for them. Please buy on Amazon – it’s much easier for everyone and the shipping is free if you have Prime. Pretty simple.
I use Canva to build covers for my novels. I love Canva.
People should judge a book by the cover
I do my own covers because covers are another really big expense that nobody wants to talk about. Are my covers great? I wish. I quickly hate them with a passion, but I do them myself and am probably my own worst critic. Part of this is my internal struggle with genre. Is it a tech thriller? Is it a time travel epic? Is it a family saga? Is it romance? Well, the cover needs to tell you before you pick it up.
For Big Sky Lake’s cover I used Canva exclusively. It’s an incredibly simple cover design, but this is one cover I actually really like. In fact, I already did the cover for the second book, and no you can’t see it, yet.
Cover design and full jacket for paperbacks is a whole different level of difficult. This is not just the front picture, but the spine and back cover too, which have to be perfectly sized for the width of your book and several other things. Canva can’t help much with the jacket because the design tools aren’t yet as perfect as Adobe products. Amazon has a simple template to use for a paperback as long as your front over is final. The paperbacks look fine, but it’s the ebook cover that will see the most action.
Marketing and sales
I mentioned before that I’m not making money on books. For the last several years, I’m in the red, but I haven’t published anything since An Agreement We Made in June 2021. So, I’m not going to spend money on advertising on Facebook or Instagram or Goodreads, but I do have kind audiences in each area who may wish to buy my books. Engaging with these fine folks is generally free. This website is an expense too, and may not entirely be necessary, but it’s a catalog of my work and if people care to stop by, that’s awesome. I appreciate every click.
The dashboard for Advance Review Copies (ARC) in BookSprout for An Agreement We Made from 2021.
Book reviews
Book reviews are really the best marketing tools. So, when I ask for reviews, it’s not for validation (entirely), but for promotion too. If a third-party says your book was enjoyable it greatly increases the possibility of a purchase, or at least the downloading of a sample.
For Big Sky Lake I am using Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) via BookSprout. I give away copies of the ebook to readers who promise to review it honestly on Amazon. I don’t get any say in what the reviews say, and I’ve only gotten a handful, but they are useful for sure. I appreciate that people give my books a try.
A warning about costs
There are plenty of people who will gladly take your money to publish, review, build your cover or market your book. You don’t need them if you’re dedicated and driven. Or broke. The thing that you can do that they cannot, is write the book. So, write the damn book! Don’t think that paying several hundred dollars for some “package” will make it a bestseller. The writing does that, period.
Writing a book is your triumph, not your path to riches. So, write the book and get it into the world. If it’s good, it will get read. If you just want eyeballs – give it away for free, there is nothing wrong with that.
So, these are the tools I used to write and publish Big Sky Lake. I hope you’ll give it a read.
If you’re aspiring to write a novel, your process will look different and be unique to your tastes. but hopefully this gave you some ideas, or at least insight into my process for Big Sky Lake.