Debut Author Writing Part-Time Yet Doing Full-Time Author Work
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash
I’m proud to be a full-time queer romance story coach and developmental editor. However, that means I don’t have much time to work on the manuscript that will earn me the title of Debut Author. Firstly, I spend anywhere between ten to twenty hours penning out two blog entries and a LinkedIn article a week. Secondly, there are the hours devoted to direct-labor coaching and editing. Thirdly, I schedule a steady chunk of time for professional and business development.
As a result, I count myself lucky if I can squeeze in five hours a week to add to or hone my work-in-progress (WIP). Thanks to my multiple neurodivergencies, though, I can be quite productive when I do add to or subtract from my WIP. That’s because as a part-time fiction writer, I’m still responsible for working as though I’m a full-time author.
Deciding On My WIP’s Word Count
I rarely read books that are less than 260 pages. My ideal range is 350–500 pages. In the editing world, the accepted words-per-page ratio is 250-to-1. This means I prefer books—whether fiction or nonfiction—to be at least 65,000 words, and as high as 125,00 words. It’s genre-dependent, naturally, but I’m as much a long-form reader as I am a long-form writer.
I’ve been a part-time writer of fiction for twenty-five years. To date, I’m sitting around a cool 1.75 million words published (at the least). Beyond the Chapter’s Sam Hemmings breaks down the general word count expectations in the fiction publishing world as follows:
- Flash fiction: 1–1,000 words
- Short stories: 1,001–8,000 words
- Novelettes: 7,500–20,000 words
- Novellas: 20,001–40,000 words
- Novels typically start at 40,001 words, though they shouldn’t run higher than 125,000 words.
Novels average around 80,000–100,000 words. I’m proud to say I’ve published, then, twenty full-length novels’ worth of stories. Whether they were any good? I left that up to the readers.
My final word count goal of my current WIP is 95,000 words. It’s on the higher end of category romance expectations, sure. I did mention I’m a long-form writer, you know. Even as a debut author, I’m no different.
Organizing My Revision Rounds
Near the end of September 2023, I proposed that six drafts were the ideal number an author should aim to produce before they reach out to me or any other developmental editor. (Selfishly, I’m all for you submitting your Developmental Edit Interest Form to me anytime.) My Scrivener Draft Status list follows my own advice because despite being a part-time writer, my inner story coach and developmental editor demand it.
Knowing this WIP will be my debut author work is more than a little terrifying. At the same time, the level of organization I’ve given myself eases the pressure. The US Navy SEALS believe “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
Because I break my WIP’s drafting process into realistic and manageable stages, I ensure a plausible, smooth, and hopefully emotionally driven story. That’s the goal of any part-time writer or full-time one.
Building My Debut Author Publishing Team
I have conflicted feelings about self-publishing authors who put out multiple books a year. On the one hand, it’s astonishing. By that I mean I’m in awe they have enough story ideas to publish that many books that often. On the other hand, I question the depth and breadth of their publishing team. Or if they even chose to have one.
Personally, I can’t imagine not taking the time to go through every stage of the publishing process. Even as a part-time fiction writer, I know you only get one time to make a first impression on your target reader. I’m a perfectionistic storyteller. Worst (or better) yet, I’m a stickler for following processes that make the most sense to me. Of course I’ve already started to plan out who I’m contacting to be part of my publishing team.
No contracts have been signed. I haven’t even submitted an interest form or introduction email. By the same token, you can rest assured that this soon-to-be debut author has those folx’s business names and websites on her Scrivener-created copyright page for reference.
Photo by Teslariu Mihai on Unsplash
About That Debut Author Publishing Date…
You’re supposed to start talking about or marketing the fact that you’re publishing any kind of story as soon as it solidifies into something that you decide to publish. Steven Spatz, president emeritus of BookBaby, a full-service printing and publishing company, says as much.
Marketing your book should start even before you write Chapter 1—and the process never really ends. To be successful, self-published authors need to develop a lifetime marketing plan for their books to be used and enhanced over time. And you should start the process as early as you can.
When’s my novel hitting the proverbial shelves, then? When will I finally be able to call myself an Original Fiction Debut Author? When the story’s good and well ready, my main characters constantly argue.
Forcing words on the page just to say I’ve hit Scrivener’s assigned daily word-count goal? Stressing over starting and deleting and starting and deleting a not-all-that-important scene just because it’s on my outline?
I’m good.
I’m doing full-time author work by researching, outlining, drafting, and self-editing, sure. But I’m not ashamed, either, to admit that being a part-time writer is a better fit for me in the long run. If that means I only publish one or two novels a year? It makes no matter to me. I’m enjoying this first go-round all the same. After all, you only get to be a debut author once.
The wait will be worth it when I hold that final printed version of my novel in my hands for the first time. Maybe sometime in late 2025.
Reflecting On Your Story One Word At A Time!
