My Writing Process: From Idea to Published Book

By the end of this year, I’ll have ten books on the shelves, in two genres and two separate series. Yet, every single one of them started with some kernel that excited me – a “What if” that spiraled into 60-100,000 words. For the latest book in my Profiler series, the kernel came from several real-life cases that merged into a thriller about a teenage girl who goes missing, leaving behind the ominous note “If you’re reading this, I’m already dead,” and the FBI profiler assigned to find her.

For the upcoming books in my Lawmen series, it was figuring out the backstory connecting three foster brothers that blossomed into a trilogy.

The ideas are everywhere – in an unsolved case in the paper, in words overheard on the street, in the political climate. It’s figuring out which ideas have the potential to become something unique and support an entire novel (and if you’re writing a series, also which ideas work well with the trajectory of your character arc). For me, after that initial burst of excitement, I spend a lot of time jotting down ideas about where it can go from there.

Often, I’ll come up with a dozen different directions, just to make sure I’m not heading in the most obvious.  Once I have a general plan, I begin making a bulleted list. I write down everything I know and then begin filling in the pieces in between until I have the skeleton of an outline.

Simultaneously, I work on characters. In my opinion, there is a “right” character for every plot and vice versa.  Since I’ve been writing series, if the story idea I have doesn’t give me a chance to also move my character forward (and change her in some important way), it goes into an Ideas Folder for a future book.

Once I know the plot and the characters will interact in an interesting way (usually in a way that tortures my main character somehow!), I begin fleshing out the details. With a series, I work on how the returning characters will grow in this story, and who the new characters are (their family history, their job, their love life, their fears, their strengths and weaknesses).

Because I’m writing two series, a lot of my general research (on the FBI, general law enforcement, profiling, etc.) is already complete.  But each book requires new, specific research into whatever new topic I’m writing about. That usually happens somewhere between the initial idea and during the process of creating the outline and character sketches.

Next, I write a blurb, synopsis and first three chapters for my publisher. My synopsis comes straight from that bulleted list, with key character details mixed in. Then, it’s on to the best part – writing the full novel.

To write the book, I use the program WriteWay. It lets me keep pictures of my characters, along with details on them, and all my outline and research notes, in one place. It also allows me to have the book broken into chapters and scenes, and to keep track of my word count, so I know I’ll make my deadline.

Each writing day, I begin by reading over what I wrote the day before.  This gets me back in the voice of my characters and in the zone. I do minor edits as I re-read and when I finish the re-read, I’m usually moving quickly into the next scene. Most of the time, I slow a little until I know the first line for the scene and then things move again. I follow the “start late, end early” model for every scene, meaning I begin wherever something interesting is happening and end at a hook, so hopefully readers can’t stop until they finish the whole scene, then the whole chapter, then the whole book!

Once I finish the entire book, I do a full read. I make smaller edits as I go and jot notes for any bigger items.  Then, I do another pass for the bigger items. If possible, I give myself at least two weeks between finishing the first draft and the first round of editing, because then I see new things. I also like to read the entire book aloud, because I hear different things that way.

After my initial rounds of editing, the book goes to my beta readers – I have three I use for every single book, plus a critique group who hears “problem chapters” along the way at our monthly meetings. Once they give me feedback, I go through again for changes, then once more for my final read.  Then, off it goes to my editor.

Once she reads it, I’ll get back revisions, then line edits, then copyedits and galleys (edits of descending size). After each pass with changes, I do a full new clean read myself and make any additional changes. Then, nine months to a year after I’ve turned in that initial manuscript, the book is on shelves! (And by that time, I’ve written the next book[s]).

Of course, none of this happens in a vacuum. Typically, at any given time, I’m marketing the book that’s recently been released, writing the book due next, doing edits on the book I’ve recently turned in, and researching the idea I’ll turn to after that. The way I keep from feeling overwhelmed is to approach each as independently as possible (meaning, I try to pause new writing to finish all edits as they come in instead of jumping back and forth between books).

With every book, I refine the process, trying new things to challenge myself, and learning more and more what works for me (which includes how I write best, what conditions give me higher word counts, etc.). As intense as the process can be (especially with multiple books at various stages at the same time), I still love it. Each time I get that new kernel of an idea that gets me excited, I can’t wait to flesh it out into a full book.  But the truth is, the real joy is in the process.

About Elizabeth Heiter

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit (or a lot!) of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and translated into eight languages; they’ve also been shortlisted for the Daphne Du Maurier award, the National Readers’ Choice award and the Booksellers’ Best award and won the RT Reviewers’ Choice award.

Website: www.elizabethheiter.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizabeth.heiter.author

Twitter: @ElizabethHeiter

About Elizabeth’s Latest Book, STALKED

If you’re reading this, I’m already dead…

That’s the note seventeen-year-old Haley Cooke leaves behind when she disappears from inside her high school. FBI profiler Evelyn Baine is called in to figure out who had reason to hurt her. On the surface, the popular cheerleader has no enemies, but as Evelyn digs deeper, she discovers that everyone close to Haley has something to hide. Everyone from estranged parents to an older boyfriend with questionable connections to a best friend who envies Haley’s life.

Secrets can be deadly…

One of those secrets may have gotten Haley killed. If she’s still alive, Evelyn knows that the more the investigation ramps up, the more pressure they could be putting on her kidnapper to make her disappear for good. It’s also possible that Haley isn’t in danger at all, but has skillfully manipulated everyone and staged her own disappearance. Only one thing is certain: uncovering Haley’s fate could be dangerous—even deadly—to Evelyn herself.

BUY STALKED HERE

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