SEEDS: Cal suspecting reality isn’t right. Professor thinking the world is odd. Kay and Cal catching glimpses of the human (human tries to intervene at the end in order to kill Cal).
And that was about it. Arc 2 was even looser, and actually ended up changing entirely during the writing of Arc 1.
In terms of chapter breakdowns, here’s the first couple of breakdowns I had for Arc 1:
1 Generation: Kay at high school, gentle but fun intro.
2 Survival of the fittest: Kay goes to a club. More insight into the world. Ends with cops busting in.
Very, very brief. I knew the general thrust of the chapter, but the specifics of what happened I let emerge during the actual writing. For contrast, here are the descriptions for the final two episodes of Arc 1:
12 Lineage: Cal and Kay get into the parliament building, high above the city, in an attempt to get to the records held there and find out what’s going on. They find the records about how Cal’s generation was wiped out. The wings want to maintain status quo, and genetic purity. They’re also receiving instructions from a ‘Higher Being’ - some kind of organic creature (actually a dimensional jumping device). Cal inherits the dimension hop ability and starts genoshifting uncontrollably. The wings break into the room just as Cal genoshifts and dimension jumps uncontrollably.
13 Apex Predator: Cal and Kay are discovered and there’s a big fight. All looks lost when Holt appears, takes out the wings and barges in, looking for Cal. At the last minute Cal reappears (holding a plant/rabbit/something, as a test), grabs Kay and Marv, and jumps out again.
There’s more detail in there, because I knew the specific events of those chapters were much more important. What happened in them would dictate Arc 2, and I didn’t want to get myself into any tricky spots. You’ll note that even with these more descriptive outlines, the final chapters were still quite different, in terms of pacing and plot beats.
That flexibility is essential, I think. You need to give your writing room to breathe, and if you control yourself too much through your own plotting and preparation you can deny yourself access to innovative ideas and creative sparks as they happen.
It’s a balance, for sure. Do whatever makes you comfortable as a writer, but don’t feel like you need to know everything about your story before you start crafting words.
Buffer or no buffer?
I’ve already touched upon this a little, which is the question of whether to build up a buffer of completed instalments before you start publishing your serial. This was my original plan with A Day of Faces, and I wrote about three chapters before I started publishing.
This revealed numerous things about my habits as a writer.
First up, I had incredibly itchy feet while writing those chapters. Because I knew the plan was to serialise and publish online for free, I hated holding material back. I just wanted to get it out there and start trying to find readers. Having completed chapters sitting on my hard drive felt like a betrayal of the core concept, and more like non-serialised writing. It seemed like I was missing the point.
Secondly, after I wrote those three chapters, I then didn’t write another one until I’d published those three. This no doubt says a lot about my personality and creative drive. Because I knew I had three chapters in the bank, I relaxed and didn’t keep up regular writing. There was no impetus to keep pushing forward, because I had this comfortable buffer. Of course, that buffer soon evaporated and I found myself rushing to get chapters written in time.
This initially worried me but I’ve since come to love it. Every Monday evening I sit down and hammer out the next chapter. I proof it, then upload it to Wattpad and hit the ‘publish’ button. It’s immediate, invigorating and hugely rewarding. By the time I wake up the next morning I’ve usually received a comment, vote or at least some views. It keeps me focused, and energised. I’ve not experienced any writer’s block during A Day of Faces, and I think that’s in large part due to the just-in-time way I’m writing it.
That’s not necessarily the right way to go about it, though. It doesn’t leave much room for being ill, or family/work commitments getting in the way. But, really, 1000-3000 words a week should be entirely doable. If you don’t think you can manage that, then chances are you’re not cut out to be a writer.
Whether you want a buffer or not will also depend on your writing style, and the nature of your first drafts. I tend to edit as I write, continually tweaking what I’ve just written. My day job is as a copywriter, so I’m experienced at proofing my own work (famous last words…). That means that my first drafts are not bad. Further editing would always help, but my first drafts still tend to be publishable to some degree.
If your first drafts aren’t really publishable, you should know that that is completely fine. In that case, build in a week’s buffer, so that you’re always a week ahead of schedule, giving you a few days to proof, edit and tweak.
Don’t forget, also, that the nature of online publishing means you can go back and edit even a published work at any time. While arranging this ebook collection I’ve spotted a few typos and errors here and there - even one minor but gaping plot error - which I’ve corrected not only in this edition but also in the online version on Wattpad. Nothing is set in stone.
The platform
There’s a bunch of different online publishing platforms. Some of them you can charge for your work. The platform I’ve been using is called Wattpad, and is described as social network for writers and readers. For writers, it provides an easy and free way to publish and reach an audience. For readers, it delivers a huge amount of content in a format that is every bit as convenient as reading on a Kindle.
Wattpad is huge. Don’t underestimate its pull or influence. Do a quick Google and you’ll find out lots of interesting stats about its reach. It’s home to a mixture of talents, from amateurs and beginners to professional authors like Margaret Atwood. Some writers have graduated from Wattpad to traditional publishing, using it as a portfolio and proof of concept. If you approach an agent with evidence that people already love your work, it gives you a decent bargaining position.
What you can’t do on Wattpad is directly monetise your work. If you’re not looking to make money from your writing, that’s fine. If you want to go career to some degree, then it’s best to think of Wattpad as the long game. It’s how you build an audience, make contacts and hone your craft. It’ll position you far better for publishing a paid-for book, or seeking traditional publication. After all, this ebook you’re reading wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t started serialising the story on Wattpad.
None of the decent platforms require exclusivity, so by all means try out a whole bunch.
The cover
You’re a writer, not an artist or a designer. Unless you’re a polymath, in which case we’re all very jealous. You still need a good cover for your book, though, even if you’re going all-digital. Whether you’re serialising on Wattpad or publishing on Amazon, the book cover is still a crucial aspect of attracting readers.
There’s a bunch of great tools for creating covers, some free and some not. Whether you use a completely bespoke service (search for ‘book cover maker’ on Google and you’ll find a vast number of free cover creators) or design it yourself using software tools (free like GIMP or paid like Photoshop), make sure you give it some thought.
Who is your book aimed at? If you’ve written the kind of book you’d like to read, then what kind of book covers normally grab your attention?
If you really don’t think you can design your own cover, have a think about any artist or designer friends you might know, or reach out into online art communities.
Launching
This is something I’m still figuring out. I suspect it becomes easier the more you write - a second book will already have a partially built-in audience from your first. Serialisation poses its own challenges here, because at launch you’ll only have a tiny snippet of what the story will become. At this stage, there’s no proo
f of your ability, or that your story will be worth a reader’s time.
Prior to serialising A Day of Faces I published a handful of short stories on Wattpad. None of them gained any particular traction, but it meant that when people found A Day of Faces they’d at least see that I had a body of work, and they could check that out if they wanted. It suggested I was taking the writing seriously.
The main thing with your first project is to get all the details right. Make sure you have a decent blurb. Get a decent cover. Check for typos, because that will immediately turn away readers.
A lot of indie authors recommend hiring a professional editor when it comes to self-publishing a book, especially one you’re going to be charging for. This is good advice, but doesn’t really work for serialising on a platform like Wattpad, for the obvious scheduling reasons. Don’t worry about it, though - readers searching for creative, unusual, interesting stories there understand the space and how writers use it. Much like YouTube viewers don’t expect blockbuster production values on every video, Wattpad readers will forgive rare typos - as long as the core story and writing style are good.
Promoting
The moment you hit ‘publish’ on your first chapter, you need to be ready to go. If you have a network of writers or readers, you need to contact them. If you’re part of forums or Facebook groups, post there. Get on Twitter. You need a social media presence of some sort, because serialisation encourages engagement. Your readers want to engage with you, not just your work. If you’re invisible or impossible to find, that’s going to limit your overall exposure.
If you’ve written a genre piece, contact websites that cover that kind of material. Same goes for blogs, other writers in similar areas, etc.
At the same time, respect the cultures and rules of each of these venues. Don’t go barrelling in and annoy everybody, or come across as a spammer. Be authentic and honest.
Talking of blogs, if you don’t already have one now is the time to think about it. Again, it’s about having a presence and being a visible entity. You’re not going to be appearing in literary magazines of newspaper interviews any time soon, so you need to let people find you in other ways.
Another tool worth looking at, depending on your networks, is Buffer. This is a free web service that identifies the best times of day for you to post on social media, makes it easy to schedule them up and also cross-posts to save you time.
Now that I’m over halfway through Arc 2 of A Day of Faces I’m finding some of this easier, simply because there’s an evident story to discover. When I link people to the series, there’s substance there. I suspect when I move on to my next story it’ll be an even more natural thing. The first book will always be the hardest.
Community
Wattpad isn’t just a publishing platform; it’s also a social network connecting writers and readers. Back in the summer of 2015 I ended up in contact with a writer known as Rebecca Sky, who has quite a following. She was in the process of setting up an event for writers to be held in a virtual group space on Facebook. I had no idea what to expect but jumped on board, figuring it couldn’t hurt.
The Story Fair took place in September over a 24 hour period with over 100 writers being featured. A Day of Faces was among them and I received lovely feedback on the concept, the cover and the themes of the book. My view count jumped forwards in the space of those 24 hours and has continued building steadily ever since. Networking events like those are essential, and are something I’ll be digging into more in the coming months.
There’s also the obvious things: if somebody leaves a comment, thank them. Reply with something that furthers the discussion. The more comments your stories have, the more they will look interesting to readers scouring the digital bookshelves. If somebody votes or comments or follows you, check out their profile to see if they’ve done anything interesting. Unless there’s a good reason not to, it’s probably worth following them back. That way you can expand your network and you’ll start to see what else they’re interested in, and discover new work and other authors you can network with.
As with any social network, you get as much out of it as you put in.
Monetising
Unlike YouTube, which I’ve compared to a number of times here, there is no direct monetisation on Wattpad. Work you put up is freely available.
That doesn’t make it a dead end, though.
Aside from the essential enjoyment of writing and building an audience, by serialising content and publishing regularly what you’re actually doing is building up a very compelling portfolio, both of your skills as a writer and as a promoter of your own work. Those are things that agents are looking for, and if you’re an author who would like to go the traditional route at some point it’ll give you a stronger bargaining position - one of experience.
This ebook is another example of the available routes. Although I’ve published A Day of Faces for free on Wattpad, that doesn’t preclude publishing it elsewhere in other forms. Most of these places don’t demand any kind of exclusivity.
Even though ADoF is available for free already, that doesn’t negate the possibility of interest in a paid-for version such as this ebook. Different people like to acquire and consume stories in different ways. Not everybody wants to read a chapter a week. Buying an ebook collection is more convenient. Not everybody wants to fiddle around with the Wattpad app, and would prefer to just use their Kindle or equivalent.
And, of course, I’ve packed in as much ‘bonus’ material as I could find into the ebook. As a film enthusiast I’ve always loved feature-packed DVDs and blu-rays, and I wanted this book to be the prose equivalent. There’s some lore stuff for people who simply loved the story. There’s behind-the-scenes notes and this how-to for other aspiring authors. All of this gives it additional value, I hope.
Once Arc 2 is complete, it will also be collected into an ebook. At some point, probably towards the end of 2016, I may even collect the entire completed A Day of Faces story as a more traditional novel.
Self-publishing, and especially serialisation, is all about giving you options, and control over your own work. I really recommend checking out The Creative Penn and downloading Joanna’s free Author 2.0 PDF. It’s a great introduction to being an indie author which covers a lot of the points here in more detail, and she’s a real champion of writers taking charge of their own work and skills.
The next story
It’s probably a good idea to only have one serial on the go at once, especially when you first start out. A Day of Faces leaves me enough time to blog and do other things, and I’m not quite ready to expand to another active project at this stage.
That said, I’m always planning and scribbling down concepts. I have a couple of ideas for the next project. I also have a couple of unedited novels floating around on the computer which I might resurrect and serialise, in order to give myself sufficient incentive to complete them and get them out in the world.
Whatever I do next, it’ll be building on everything I’ve learned with A Day of Faces - both in terms of my writing skills and my ability to market and promote the work. I’ll have built a readerbase of some sort, which I can carry over as a springboard for the next project.
I feel that I’m still barely scratching the surface of serialisation and self-publishing in general. I sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed reading A Day of Faces and perhaps you’ve even been inspired to try your hand at something similar. I highly recommend it - these last six months-or-so, since I properly embraced Wattpad and online serialisation as a concept, has been my most productive period for years. Every time I sit down at the keyboard, it feels like the writing has a purpose.
If you do write something, give me a shout. I’d love to read it.
Genotype notes
This is a non-exhaustive list of genetic templates which have been mentioned to a greater or lesser degree.
Tusked (1943) - (Beauty and the)Beast-like appearance. Often personalise tusks by carving.
Squamata (1944) - reptile-like, with partially scaled skin and generally venomous (secreted in a variety of ways).
360s - multiple eyes around the head, allowing them to see in all directions simultaneously. Tend to also have heightened reflexes and situational awareness. Derogative ‘swivelhead’.
Wings - can fly. Tend to live and work in exclusive locations which only they can easily reach. Inevitably lean towards roles of power.
Bovid - Horns
Fire-breathers
Camos
Stretchers - Reed Richards style
Thermal - permanent heat vision. Tend to have abrasive, angular features.
Neck-breathers - have gills for advanced oxygen processing.
Spectres - permanently invisible.
Ursidae - bear-like. Large, strong, furred.
CHARACTER PROFILES
Kaysaleen ‘Kay’ Rodata
Role in Story:Protagonist/hero
Occupation:High school student
Physical Description:Squamata, so scaled skin, forked tongue. She’s relatively short, with dark, long hair, black diamond eyes.
Personality:Free spirited, independent, anti-authoritarian, rebellious. Doesn’t take shit from anyone, including her abusive dad.
Habits/Mannerisms:Likes to be informed. Socially conscious, though not particularly active.
Background:Comes from lower-middle-class background. Dad is physically abusive. He works in local government. Mum alcoholic and useless. Kay avoids going home and can’t wait to get out on her own.
Internal Conflicts:Hates hierarchy and social structures, but desperately just wants to get out of where she lives and have no cares in the world. Rebel without a cause.
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