Approx 5-6-minute read<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took just under two years to write State of Unrest<\/em>, but, of course, it\u2019s not quite that simple. There are long writing sprints, pockets of productivity, detours into vast and refined edits, learning marketing and advertising then putting it into practice, website building, graphics tinkering, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re curious about what goes on\u00a0between<\/em>\u00a0starting a book and putting it out into the world, especially as an independent author, here\u2019s a rough timeline of how I got from a vague idea to a finished novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5th July 2023 \u2013 Planning begins<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning officially started in early July 2023. That was the stage of note-taking, world-building, mulling things over on walks, and starting to form a shape of what this book might be. I didn\u2019t do a full outline \u2014 some writers are architects who plan every beat of their novel; others are gardeners who plant a few seeds and tame what grows. There is always a balance between the two, but if I had to say I was one here, it would undoubtedly be the gardener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s more to say about writing styles \u2014 and what I\u2019d do differently if I were starting again \u2014 but that\u2019s probably a topic for another article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 12th July 2023 \u2013 The \u2018First Draft\u2019 begins<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I started the document titled \u201cFirst Draft\u201d on 12th July 2023 \u2014 but that name needs an asterisk. In reality, I wrote the first ten chapters, realised I was already improving as a writer, and circled back to rewrite them before continuing. This cycle of revision and progression continued until I had completed the first full draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2nd March 2024 \u2013 First 20 chapters finished<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fast forward a bit, and by early March 2024, I had finished the first full draft of Chapters 1\u201320. It was rough, overwritten, structurally questionable, the characters were imperfect (not in a good way), and some of the relationships were bizarre. But it\u00a0existed<\/em>, and that was ecstasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5th March 2024 \u2013 First chapters sent out to Beta Readers<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a few days later, I sent the first five chapters to some brave souls: my beta readers. These were three trusted readers \u2014 people I knew would give honest feedback while also understanding it was an early draft. We did this in waves, five chapters at a time, and bless them for sticking with it because, looking back, those early sections were in a\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0rough state. But that feedback was invaluable. It gave me a clearer eye on what wasn\u2019t working, where I was being too vague or too indulgent, and what threads were resonating. I mostly managed to avoid those two fearful words that strike terror into all writers and creatives, though their potential weight still hung heavy like the sword of Damocles: boring and cringey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 26th May 2024 \u2013 Sent to agents<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After more revisions, I decided to query agents. If you read my earlier article on traditional publishing, you\u2019ll know this isn\u2019t a quick or casual process. I meticulously went through more than 50 agencies \u2014 some with up to 20 agents each \u2014 and individually reviewed each agent to find those who might be a good fit for my book. I then created customised submission packs and emails for 18 carefully selected agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This whole process took\u00a0tens\u00a0of hours, possibly up to 100 by the time I was done. Out of the 18, I got three rejections (only one with any personalisation), and the rest were radio silence. Not uncommon \u2014 I\u2019ve spoken to people who\u2019ve had over 60 rejections. However, even without understanding why it hadn’t captured interest, it led me down a further path of reflection and study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n August\u2013September 2024 \u2013 The pivot to self-publishing<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of summer, I decided to shift to self-publishing. Not because I thought the book would suddenly sell thousands of copies this way, but because I wanted control. If the book was going to flop, it should be on my terms after I had tried to control all that I could \u2014 but I also believed it had a shot, and I didn\u2019t want to wait another year or two on the off-chance an agent or publisher might eventually agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What followed was a very<\/em> steep learning curve. Since making that decision, here\u2019s just a taste of what I\u2019ve been doing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n That list is only scratching the surface \u2014 and the most difficult part has been the fact that every time I didn\u2019t want to spend money, I had to spend\u00a0time<\/em>\u00a0learning a whole new skill. Time that might\u2019ve gone into writing book two. There have been challenges, but what made me know that writing was a passion, was that I simply couldn\u2019t stop. I knew I had to bring it to fruition. I also knew it was an investment – things I won’t have to redo for every book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now (July 2025<\/span><\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right now, I\u2019m preparing for the release of State of Unrest<\/em>. It\u2019s almost surreal \u2014 the book I started nearly two years ago is finally about to be in readers\u2019 hands. There\u2019s still a long road ahead: launch strategy, reviews, book two, and everything else, but I\u2019m so excited to get it out there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve followed along through these articles, thank you. If you\u2019re considering writing a book of your own, I hope this gives you a real sense of what\u2019s involved \u2014 not to scare you off, but to say: if I can do it, you absolutely can too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if you\u2019re just here out of curiosity, I hope it\u2019s been interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. After all, most books don\u2019t appear fully formed on a shelf \u2014 they start with someone staring at a blinking cursor, not entirely sure what they\u2019re doing\u2026 but doing it anyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Approx 5-6-minute read It took just under two years to write State of Unrest, but, of course, it\u2019s not quite that simple. There are long writing sprints, pockets of productivity, detours into vast and refined edits, learning marketing and advertising then putting it into practice, website building, graphics tinkering, and more. 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