How to Get Your Novel From Finished to Publishable
Emily Weinberg dabbled with writing short stories for younger children for years. She had a vision of writing a novel set in ancient Egypt. Although she was able to finish writing her story, publishing remained a faraway dream.
Emily was lost in revision. Even though she had edited her novel multiple times, she still felt like her novel wasn’t ready for submission. With no real sense of direction, no clear path to the next step, Emily was stuck in an endless cycle of ineffective revision.
The lack of progress was frustrating. For Emily, it felt like she would never actually get to publish her novel. She was stuck at a standstill; she was lost about what kind of help to get and who to get it from. As she lived with all of the uncertainty she became more and more intimated about the revision process, which ultimately led her to delay her dream of publishing her novel.
Then, Emily and I met at a local bookshop when I gave a talk on writing to publish. At the time, Emily had only been fantasizing about taking her writing seriously. She knew she needed professional help, someone to give her the right kind of feedback to help her revise her novel to publishable.
So, she got on a call with me. After our chat, she accepted my invitation to join the Writing Gym.
I knew I wasn’t ready to submit and I knew I needed professional help with the submission process. But when I talked with you, being able to actually revise my story and learn about writing has been a gift. You made it clear when you described the Writing Gym’s Publishing Mastermind that the end game is getting published. But throughout it all you’re going to learn a lot and grow as a writer.
Throughout the Writing Gym’s deep dive into market research, Emily discovered new, useful techniques about writing that would take her story to the next level.
The process made me rethink my story. Characters need to be doing more and speaking and interacting. Sometimes it’s those character moments where they’re thinking–where one character’s thinking one thing and the other character is saying something out loud. It’s a whole other form of communication that you can do in writing that I learned.
Emily felt the full support and encouragement that the Writing Gym offers. She developed a new-found confidence. She used to be worried about her word count, whether she would finish writing her novel at all. At the Writing Gym, she became less worried about the word count and more concerned about the actual content of the story.
The words just don’t matter. They just come.
Besides her regular work with the Writing Gym’s coaches and trainers, Emily benefited from a whole community of writers who truly understand her writing process and journey. At our writing salons, writers have a chance to talk to other writers and share their stories with each other.
Emily’s progress in the Writing Gym has been so amazing that she recently received a full manuscript request form her dream publisher, Tanglewood Publishing.
The Writing Gym has been the greatest investment–that it is an investment in myself. Annalisa Parent is incredibly professional and offers an inquiry-based study where she, as the guide, asks the right questions to make you grow on your own.
The Writing Gym isn’t just about one book. It’s about building and living the author lifestyle.
If you are struggling with writing, revising, or publishing your novel, you may be the right fit for the Writing Gym. I’ve opened up some time over the next couple of weeks to talk with writers who are serious about getting their writing published. Book yourself into my calendar and we can talk about where you are, where you’d like to go, and how you can get there.
