Do you want to become a full-time author?
Are you interested in progressing your writing career, attracting more readers and increasing your royalties?
If I told you that I had developed a process to create and publish a new commercial fiction novel every 3 months, which gains me readership and increases my sales, would you be interested? Do you have any questions which might stop you signing up?
Here are a few I’ve been asked already.
Question One
It doesn’t seem like a lot of money. Why is it so inexpensive compared to other writing courses?
I’ve done a little Google search:
I found two novel-writing courses that cost £2,800 and £2,500.
I found a “finish your draft” course – £1,650.
There is a 2-hour plotting workshop on Zoom which will cost £75.
A “how to write a novel” Masterclass – a 2 hour webinar for £49.
Why is this course different? Because this course can make a real difference to your writing life. It’s a positive way out of the submission-rejection merry-go-round. It’s a way to write your novel efficiently and effectively, and then self-publish.
As writers, we all have far more ideas than we have time to write them. So would you rather spend 2-3 years trying to sell your novel, when you could be writing your 2nd, 3rd, 4th novels, and beyond? And those novels could be creating a wider readership and earning income from royalties.
Wise words:
No one will read a book that hasn’t been published.
So why am I not charging £2000 or more for this course?
It’s simply about motivation and situation.
My motivation is to help other writers by sharing the benefit of my experience. This was why I wrote my first non-fiction book “Scrivener – Pure & Simple” several years ago. It was to help other writers who were experiencing the same problems I had, and to show what I had done to alleviate those problems.
My situation is that I don’t have expensive city-centre offices and a small army of employees and administrators to pay. I work from home, with my author partner, and we do everything ourselves. Our overheads are tiny and our profit requirement is small. So we can keep the price of our products low.
I’ve tried to make it great value – this is a full course, comprising 42 modules, with videos, voiceovers, charts, diagrams, free downloadable resources – not forgetting downloads of 5 of my books (including one novel).
And course members have access to the Facebook group where I am available to answer questions and discuss strategies. I have tried to add value wherever I can.
Question Two
This course seems like a lot of work in order to get the best out of it, and I don’t think I can afford the time right now.
I say there are 42 modules. Some of these are 5+ minutes long, some are less than 2. There is no time limit. You can watch one or two modules per night. Or you can skip modules (although I’d be concerned you might miss out on a crucial piece of information). Or you can buy now (special 50% off pre-launch offer during April 2022!) and do the course later when you do have time.
Question Three
Am I going to need the computer equipment and software you use?
What equipment do I have? I have a 7 year-old MacBook Pro. A 22” Samsung second screen. And that’s about it. The software I use: Plottr is $25 per year https://plottr.com/?ref=71 Scrivener is $61 for a lifetime licence https://www.literatureandlatte.com/store/scrivener?tab=macOS . You can get ProWritingAid for $26.00 per month, but you can usually find a voucher on the internet for 25% or 40% off, and there are free options and other software https://prowritingaid.com/en/App/Purchase. Vellum (for interior formatting) is a bit expensive at $200 / $250, and although I invested a few years ago, it’s not essential https://vellum.pub
Question Four
Does my writing need to be of a certain standard? I don’t think it’s good enough for me to be able to publish.
Neither was mine. For me, creating stories is an art. You need imagination and creativity. Writing is a craft, and can be learnt, and practised. You can read about my story in the 3 blog posts: “My Novelling Journey in Three Acts”. We all start somewhere, and improve from there. When I began seriously writing (back in 2003) I was a rank amateur. Now? I’m making serious money from selling my books.
Question Five
Do I need to follow this plan exactly? I prefer to just follow my instincts.
Which is perfectly fine. And there are successful authors who do this, and I can respect them for it. However, that is not what I do – although I do have a writer friend who is vehemently anti-plan. She is now realising that to produce a series of novels in a short period, she needs to plan both the over-arching series storyline AND each novel in turn.
Planning your novel doesn’t destroy creativity. I love the creativity in making up stories, crafting manuscripts, designing covers… the whole process. Writing and publishing a book is an incredibly creative endeavour.
And so is selling books – which is, after all, what we aim to do…
I have just completed my one-minute pitch for the Efficient Novelist course! See below:
The course will launch on May 1st 2022 HERE:
writersupportschool.teachable.com/p/the-efficient-novelist/
although you can sign up NOW for the early bird offer – 50% off.
Follow the Efficient Novelist on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_8DUsJ7PAR0QnhayyzpVgA
The book is also available on Amazon via:
https://gerald-hornsby.com/the-efficient-novelist/
If you’re interested in the Efficient Novelist program, there’s a Twitter account. It might be worth a follow for future updates: @EfficientNovels
And if you found this blog post interesting or useful or a brilliant way to procrastinate, please consider buying me a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/authorgeraldhornsby
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