Five Things I Learned Writing My Debut Novel

In 2014 I experienced a writer crisis. Not the kind of crisis where you eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and hang out in your pajamas for days on end. It was more of a stop-what-you’re-doing-and-contemplate-your-future kind of event. 

At that time I was busy parenting a precocious daughter and writing for the local paper. In my free time I was volunteering at the community school and public library; blogging about sustainability and localism; and working on several romance novel manuscripts in hopes of breaking into Harlequin or Avon.  

I’d also managed to get some short stories published in the confession magazine market–True Confessions, True Love, etc. For the first time, I was getting paid for my fiction. I was on my way. 

But then, disaster! The magazines, after almost a century of publication, went out of business, and the market I’d only recently cracked, disappeared. 

I was back to square one. Where else could I publish short stories about women who made mistakes, pursued goals, fell in love, and learned about themselves in the process? Literary magazines didn’t want that kind of story. They craved experimental, speculative fiction. Women’s magazines like Good Housekeeping no longer published short stories. 

Not ready to give up, I decided to look for something on the cutting edge, rather than tried-and-true. The publishing industry was changing fast. I discovered an online story-sharing site called Wattpad. To learn about/test the platform, I posted a flash fiction story about a female private detective from Portland, Maine. Her name was Olivia Lively. Her love life was a hot mess. 

Something remarkable happened as soon as I published this less-than-1000-word piece. Readers demanded more! They assumed it was only the first chapter of a full-length novel I intended to serialize on the platform.  

Encouraged (if slightly baffled), I proceeded to post one or two chapters a week. It moved up the rankings. Wattpad promoted the story, and I ended up with a good following and hundreds of thousands of “reads.” 

Cut to several years and a few more Wattpad novels later. That first book, now entitled FINAL DRAFT: An Olivia Lively Mystery, came out in March 2023 from a traditional small press. Writing Olivia Lively’s story, from the initial story posted online in 2014 to the full-length mystery novel published in 2023, taught me the following about writing, the industry, and life: 

Lesson One: Give Yourself Permission to Experiment

Back when the confessions folded, I could have kept on pursuing traditional markets and focused on the romance genre as I had been. Instead, I experimented with flash fiction in various genres I’d never tried in the past. When I tried “mystery,” I came up with a women’s fiction/chick lit/detective fiction mashup starring a smart and fashionable female P.I. named Olivia Lively. That little experiment led to a published book. I learned that trying something new can bring surprising results. 

Lesson Two: Readers Know Best

When I posted my original Olivia Lively short-short story, that’s all I intended for my sassy private eye. Readers on Wattpad, however, had a different idea. “I can’t wait for the next chapter!” was a common comment. I realized readers were connecting with the story and my character and wanted more. So I gave it to them. Listening to what my readership was telling me allowed me to succeed and reach my goal to become a published novelist. 

Lesson Three: Set Deadlines and Write Regularly

Writing on an online platform is akin to social media. You gain reads and followers and likes and comments on your work. There’s an algorithm to appease, er, I mean work with. I learned how important it was to post new chapters regularly, once or twice a week, to progress.  Readers stayed more engaged, and the algorithm liked the schedule so it pushed the book in front of more readers. A positive feedback loop. Nowadays, off the site, I struggle a bit with my output. Being a slow writer in a hustle-hustle world can be daunting, but I do know I’m much more productive when I write regularly and set schedules for myself. 

Lesson Four: Say “Yes” to Opportunities

I’d never advocate jumping on every new, shiny train that comes skimming down the tracks (especially marketing systems; let’s not even go there right now), but when someone gives you an opportunity, it’s often wise to say “yes” as long as there isn’t a good reason to say “no.” When readers said they wanted the Olivia Lively story to be a book, I said yes. When Wattpad approached me about including the book in their special Paid Program, I said yes. When an author I respect offered to introduce me to a publisher, I said yes. Was I scared of failure? Gosh, yes! But saying yes led me to finally achieving my goal.

Lesson Five: Dare to Follow Your Dream

I was in my 40s before I sold my first short stories to the confession magazines. When the magazines folded, my dream of being a published novelist seemed further away than ever. It seemed I’d just reach a certain step, like the confession market, and the step would disappear. In 2014, I might have simply decided, I’m too old to keep doing this. Instead of giving up, I decided to pivot and continued to follow my dream. I am now in my mid-fifties. I have new goals now, but I’m continuing to follow my dreams because I’ve learned they can be reached if I dare.  

In Conclusion: Enjoy the Journey

Life is short. We have limited time and plenty of ways to spend it. If writing or some other work brings you joy and a sense of accomplishment, by all means continue to go for it. I believe in you! I hope the lessons I learned writing FINAL DRAFT and the curvy path I took to get a book deal will encourage you to continue to pursue your own goals. We each have our own journey. Enjoy it. 

Maybe that is the biggest lesson of all. 

—

Shelley Burbank is a women’s fiction and mystery author from Maine and San Diego, California. Her debut novel, Final Draft: An Olivia Lively Mystery, was published by Encircle Publications in 2023. Shelley writes about authors, books, and the writing life on her blog, Remarkable! News, on www.ShelleyBurbank.com where you can also find links to the book on all the usual retailers. She’s hard a work on the next Olivia Lively story. 

Final Draft: An Olivia Lively Mystery

Sin, suffer… stakeout?

While untangling an academic plagiarism case involving a well-known author and his troubled protege, private investigator Olivia Lively learns that when it comes to life, love, and authorship, the lines can get pretty fuzzy.

Olivia Lively’s private investigation business might be flourishing, but her private life is a mess. Her latest romantic mistake is stalking her, her socialite mother is trying to hook her up with a commitment-minded cardiologist, and her best friend is struggling to start a family and is totally fed up with Liv’s drama.

So when graduate writing student Cooper Tedeschi begs Liv to prove that his professor—one of the most famous novelists in the country—stole his manuscript, Liv is grateful for the distraction and is soon entangled in the competitive world of academia. Meanwhile, the hot heart doc her mother has chosen for her surprises Liv in more ways than one, and Liv’s conniving ex isn’t quite done playing with her yet.

As the plagiarism case grows more complicated, and her private life more confusing, Liv learns that the line between truth and fiction–and right and wrong–is not always clearly defined.

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing