A quick beginner’s guide to being an online novelist
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a famous novel writer? If an author who published physical books sounds too impossible, how about an online novelist? Do you know that famous Filipino novel writers of this time started as online novelists? Jonaxx perhaps? Haveyouseenthisgirl, Alyloony, and of course my personal favorite, serialsleeper.
All of them started their journey as a writer through an online app called Wattpad. Wattpad is an online reading platform that was invented for users to read and of course, write and share their own stories.
Who wouldn’t know that addictive online application where you can find different kinds of stories? From fantasy to mythology, to crime and investigation, romance, and more. In an online space like that app, you can be any type of writer you want to be.
An author who can serve different kinds of worlds to her or his online readers? Maybe a fantasy trope with ancient battles between demons and knights. Or how about a love story between an immortal man and a cursed witch in an apocalyptic setting?
There is no limit to your imagination. As long as you love to write and visualize. But the question is, do you really have what it takes to be an online novelist? Especially in this fast-progressing time, where anything could be accessed through the internet?
A quick beginner’s guide to being an online novelist
Brainstorm and research thoroughly
Having a guide while writing your dream novel would be a lifesaver, believe me. Without proper research and brainstorming, your novel would be a compilation of imaginations, ideas, and creative descriptions you just thought randomly while walking home.
Brainstorming might be the easiest and the first step before writing a whole novel. Be it a novel consisting of almost 30 plus chapters with 150 thousand words or flash fiction with less than ten thousand words. You should know the points you want your novel to progress from. Especially in an online set-up, competition is really at its highest peak.
So, listing your ideas on how you would want your novel to start and end would be beneficial to you in times of trouble. Moreover, a novel that is thoroughly researched would be more interesting than those that are just a product of the writer’s imagination.
Search for a myth. A legend that you could reference your novel from. Maybe a time in history that no one seems to know. Or a conspiracy theory that is worth investigating. It would pique the curiosity of the readers and would eventually make them come for more chapters and updates.
One tip to always consider, do you feel excited about the flow of your own novel? As an author, you have to switch your position between the author and the reader of the novel. Do you feel the pains of the protagonist? Did the villain anger you so much that you wanted to give them a brutal revenge?
You are your first reader. The moment you enjoyed your own novel, the more exciting it would be for the readers.
Finish the first half of the novel ahead of time
In an online setup, you have to always put in mind that everybody is a potential competitor. Especially in the field of romance and fantasy. You might need to consider expanding your reach when it comes to the book’s weekly performance. The more new readers you get, the bigger your audience would be. The better your novel’s readership, the more your book would be popular.
And with that, you have to finish at least half of the novel for you to have a weekly update and to keep the readers glued to the story. In my case as an online novelist, there’s a need to upload a chapter every day, especially for those who are under an exclusive program. If you just wrote a couple of thousand words, and your weekly update is supposedly twice a week, imagine just how long those words would last. Maybe two to three weeks?
The longer the readers wait for an update, the more they lose interest in the story. And if the readers feel tired of waiting and bored of your novel, it would drastically drag down your novel’s performance.
Finishing up half of the novel would make it easier for you to plan when to post, when to take a break and when to research for additional information you would want to include in the story.
List down every character. Including their characteristics and personality
Making up names for the characters of a story is quite hard. Their names should be unique for them to stick and stay in the reader’s mind. Whether it is based on ancient times or just some randomly selected letters that are put together to create a new word.
Each name represents a uniquely crafted character, with distinct visual, costume, and weapon. If naming a character is hard, what more in giving it an appearance?
Whether it has long or short hair. A jet black mullet or blonde apple-cut hair. If the protagonist is a softly-spoken 4’11 chubby girl or a tall petite woman with a hoarse and raspy voice. You must list down everything you want your characters to look like. From their head to their toes, maybe even how they breathe and blink. Every little thing makes up a whole character.
With a novel consisting of 150 thousand words or more, you cannot simply make the story rotate to a few characters. Aside from providing a unique heroine, you need to provide a group of people that would be beneficial to the hero’s character development. Whether it is the good people who would help them, or the group of villains who would make their lives miserable.
Remember to always list down everything about your characters. Names, hair, weapons, clothes, and some unique features like the color of their eyes, rings, or earrings. The way they talk, walk and communicate with people would also make the readers and you as an author as well, remember each one of them correctly.
Write at least a thousand-word chapter per day
Make writing your habit. Aside from the fact that it would help you improve both your writing style and vocabulary. It would also make your mind remember where you have ended your previous chapter. Because the moment you stop writing even for just a couple of days, it would eventually lead to you having writer’s block or losing your interest in writing overall.
Channeling the heroine’s emotions is hard when you stop writing for one or two days. Write while you still feel the desire of your characters. Their emotions, their pains, and the most important thing that they value in their lives.
Carve writing at least a thousand words into your routine. Maybe sit for one to two hours a day and allocate that time to write. Make it your most important task for the day. A thing that should never be forgotten, just like brushing your teeth. Because when you write and commit to writing a novel, the task will never be completed until you finish the whole book. Be it a solo stand novel or a trilogy.
And aside from that, it could also help you discover or recognize which type of a writer you are.
Learn to market your story
Writing a novel would never end in putting the “The End” at the last page of the story. Publishing a physical book is so different from putting your story on an online reading platform. After all the hard work you put into writing your novel, researching for the information, and exploring, you would also need to market your novel.
Putting up a page would be a plus but not required when becoming an online novelist. Although it would help you communicate with the readers as well as expand your reach. Creating something that you are not so sure how to handle would just be a burden rather than a help. Rather than a page, you could use different social media platforms you are comfortable to be your novel’s gallery. Putting up some parts of a chapter would definitely make them interested, no matter what.
You need to market your story for it to have a wider reach, than just waiting for the promotion of the online platform.
As a fact, online reading platforms usually promote their stories, especially those that are tagged as ‘new arrival’ when it reaches a 30,000-word count or more. Imagine writing 800 to 1000 words per chapter. Your novel would only get promoted when you uploaded 30 to 40 chapters. Just how long would you need to wait to get a promotion, right?
So learning to market your novel is an important skill you would need if you seriously commit to writing a novel and becoming an online novelist.
Writing a novel, whether it is physical or online is both draining and exhausting. Imagine giving almost half a day to research, write chapters, and brainstorm your novel’s plot twists and conflicts. It’s quite hard, isn’t it? But with the passion, determination, and desire to write and share your craft, it would still be hard, but who knows you might enjoy the challenges it brings. So buckle up, ready your paper, pen, and gadgets, and start your journey as an online novelist.
