How to Write a Novel
I have read quite a number of interesting books and magazine articles about writing. Some of them have dealt with writing for children, some have dealt with writing short stories and articles and others are about writing novels.
There is a growing flood of articles on the Internet about how to write. I just did a quick Google search. I typed in “How to write a novel”. The result was staggering. Over 76 million references!There is no shortage of writers wanting to write about how to write. Or sell you software to do it. One even promised that it was “the ultimate bookwriting tool. Start writing your bestseller today.”
The Truth about Publishing
- Many people want to write a novel or a book one day.
- Very few even start.
- Of those that start, very few ever finish.
- Of those that finish, very few actually send the manuscript to a publisher
- And of those that send their manuscript to a publisher, less than one percent ever get to see their work in print.
- Of those that do get their writing published only a handful ever become bestsellers.
Many of these books and articles list methods or rules for successful writing. Follow these and you, too, will be successful, they claim. The authors of these how to books and articles ignore the three rules of Somerset Maugham:
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
Postscript:
- Yes – I’ve always wanted to write a book.
- Yes – I have finished twelve books.
- Yes – I have sent them to publishers.
- Yes – I have had six books published (plus many poems and stories)
- Yes – it is possible – but very hard work, lots of persistence and a never give up attitude.