Start here: How to write a Book (1 of 2)

Step 1 - Know why you want to write. 

In a NYC winter I walked out of my apartment block into the black morning. The pavements were all salt and snow, and it was pitch dark. I rode a City bike downtown to a cuban boxing gym. My workday was a sunrise to sunset in a Wall Street office. Our office entry was a kick away from the charging Wall Street Bull statue. Every afternoon I would buy a coffee and stand at the edge of Battery Park while I watched the crowd. Generations of immigrants had disembarked at Battery Park, before walking off into the City to start a new life. I wanted the same – something new, but I was not sure what, or how. 

I did not know it, but a chance drink at a mate’s house in NYC, would put me on path to a beach in Samoa on a reality TV show. There I met my future wife on a boat before we spent three long weeks together in the Samoan jungle – a solid first date. 

After the show was done, I was flown home to Perth with cuts all over my lower body from my time in the jungle. I was sick for weeks. I read Steven King's memoir, On Writing, while I was laid out on the couch. I finished it in two sittings, and then I read it again. I had always wanted to write about my experience in the military, and his book has inspired me.

Weeks late, Alex Lloyd from Life on the Line reached out and asked me onto his podcast. I found out Alex was a top editor at #panmacmillan. I went on his podcast, and then harassed him with questions about the industry. I deferred a few years as Sam and I welcomed our son, Harry, to the world. But the idea of writing a story – it gnawed at me.

By late 2019, I felt ready. I sat down and started writing a book proposal.

I wanted to write it because I felt the story would be entertaining and helpful, but also I wanted to show the human side of special operations soldiers, and the story of the long war in Afghanistan.

Step 2: Write a proposal

I pulled a book out of the dusty boxes I had stashed in my Dad's shed. One old paperback looked back at me – it was about commercially viable writing. I had bought it in Perth in late 2009. Just before my last tour to Afghanistan, and it had been a long, bruising war. 

It took me ten more years to write a proposal.

A publisher can make an offer on a strong proposal without a completed manuscript. I wanted to go the traditional publishing route because it aligned with my goals of: 1-building a high-quality product, and 2-getting the book in the hands of as many people as possible.

I learned about genre (memoir: narrative non-fiction), platform (people who trust you that you can reach out to). ‘Comps’ I learned are comparative titles, like your book idea. I discovered that a publisher will look up the sales figures for a comparative title. This indicates value potential in that topic or idea. 

An author is judged foremost on their ability to write, but also platform and the relevance of their topic. I built all this into a proposal with the help of @kellyirving, a top book coach. The proposal took me six weeks, four hours a day, five days a week (about 120 hours). It’s a solid investment, because it tells you if your book idea is commercially viable.

More than that, it’s a road map forward. 

The ability to execute, evidence of market need, and 'platform' (or reach) are three criteria for a strong proposal

I finalised the proposal, and sent it to the publisher. A few weeks later, I met Alex at the Pan Macmillan office in Sydney. He shook my hand and we laid the pathway to a book release in 18-months time. Two days later, the whole city closed down. 

I was at the startline.  

3-Build a timeline, track your progress

Shortly after making a formal commitment to deliver a manuscript, Melbourne entered a crippling stage-4 lockdown. It was a hard time to be in isolation, but a perfect time to write. I got started with a more detailed structure. I researched story telling, why our brains are wired to absorb and enjoy them. I learned about the Three Act story, the Inciting Incident, Chekhov's Gun, the ‘All is Lost’ moment, and the ‘Turn for home.’ 

On excel I wrote up a 34-point structure with three acts, spanning my life in the military and my self-imposed exile to the USA. I steeled myself to include many of my flaws and mistakes. Without them, I felt I would be an incomplete character, and not relatable as a protagonist.

I used an Excel word tracker to stay on target, especially when I missed days. Which was pretty often.

That outline became a guide rail when I got trapped in the weeds. I built it on excel, with a chapter title, description, and word count. I was aiming at 90,000 words. 80,000 is acceptable, but you want some ‘fat’ in the story that can be ‘liposuction’ out in the later edits, as my editor told me.

For advance notice of my memoir release, coming soon, head to markwales.com.au and enter your email.

P.S. Part 2 of this series will come soon (best practice writing tips, and book marketing)

#memoir  #books #nonfiction  #Specialops #SAS #veteran #defence #resilience #army #author