I thought I’d map out what has happened this year. In February I started writing my first fictional novel, my aim was to finish this by December. Then at Swinburne Uni I was told ‘write everyday’. My good friend bought me a planning diary and I soon realised my manuscript would be finished way before Christmas! In fact it was finished in July. All 67,000 words of it, I actually wrote more like 80,000 but edited it down. I think it fits in the genre of Chick Lit, a friend said it could be Bridget Jones meets Monkey Grip.
In June I started this blog and decided on my pen name of Frankie Banks. Somehow having a pen name enabled me to write exactly what I wanted. Is it hiding? Possibly! All I know is that Frankie has bigger balls than I do and if you’re going to be any good as a writer, a decent pair goes a long way!
In August I joined a Writers Group to get some feedback on my book. The feedback was positive and I started to learn alot about writing and I realised my weapon was content. I had great content but needed to work on the minute details. That’s where I lacked finesse. In October I sent my first manuscript to five top publishers (mainly via their website submission pages). Last month I heard back from one asking me to submit more chapters, which I have done along with the first few of book two.
I wanted to give myself a challenge for book two. So I decided on an eight week target. I knew the format now as it would be a sequel to book one. I wanted to explore the sub characters a bit more. The writing this time was less in the middle of the night and much more planned. I was in control of the beast instead of the beast controlling me. This is the book that will be finished in December. Well it’s basically finished as I write I just want to print it out and do the big read through and edit. When is a book really finished? Probably when it’s on the shelf of the book shop! I’m not quite there yet but ever closer!
In October I started writing with an executive coach. We exchange our skills. He wants me to see my writing as a business as well as a passion and hopefully one day I might actually make some money out of it. Well when I say hopefully one day what I mean is next year. 2016 will be Frankie’s year!
My plan for next year is to submit both my manuscripts to more publishers and also to get more reviews. I have two more books planned to write which no doubt will start when they are ready and not when I want to. I also need to be more visible and work on the ‘business’ end of things, website, contacts etc. I would also love to do more writing for others, everyone has a story to tell.
My book Sharks & Lovers is available to download here: