My Journey As a Novelist

I am an independent novelist, currently working on my third novel, which will be the sequel to the first two novels that I already self-published on LULU.com. I do everything myself, which includes writing, editing, drawing, designing, and marketing. LULU just prints and distributes whenever people order a copy. 

I wrote the first novel, The Sand Dollar, within one year, which is in a journal format, where the main character narrates her nine-year adventurous journey. Ideas came out fast, and I just typed out everything on MS Word until I finished the rough draft, even though I wasn't sure what I was doing because it was my first novel. Along the way, I did a lot of research, which includes buying a copy of the magazines because it presented many tips for writing the first novel. It helped organized everything I needed to do, which made the process easier. I also did a lot of internet research whenever I wasn't sure about something. My rough draft was 450 pages, but I did a lot of editing, probably around six times, because I wanted to make sure the whole novel flowed from the prologue until the last page. When I finished editing, I noticed my book had shrunk to 342 pages. I then embarked on drawing the covers, first with pencil and paper, and then scanning the pages so I can digitally draw these pages on Adobe Illustrator. I also used Adobe Photoshop for some effects. I finally self-published the first novel in September 2006.

Afterward, I felt so empowered that I wanted to write another novel. It was fun, I thought. I have always wanted to draw a comic book since I was a kid, but I never had ideas for a good story when I was younger. I decided to draw a graphic novel and make it a one-year prequel to my first novel. I used the same main character. I also brought the story in a journal format. Before I started drawing the graphic novel, I read many different graphic novels to get an idea about visual novel styles, norms, and standards. I realized everyone has their style. So, I decided to do everything my way as well as in my manner. Along the way, I did a lot of internet research, mostly on Youtube, when I didn't know how to do something. This graphic novel took forever to finish because there was always some issue I needed to overcome, as well as I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just loved to draw. I also realized that bringing a graphic novel was double the work of writing a book.

I drew 200 pages of the rough draft, 200 pages of the artboard, and redrawing many pages that I didn't like for some reason. I probably redrew 200 pages about five times. I then used black ink to outline the pages before coloring the pages with colored pencils, markers, and colored pens. It is like a 200-page mixed media fine arts project. In this whole process, there were some unexpected issues, such as bleeding, liquid spilled on my artwork, sweat dripped on my artwork, or I just messed up somewhere. So, I redrew these pages. Then, I scanned 200 pages so I can type in the script on each page, which includes narration boxes and speech bubbles.

I used MS Publisher, which I bought on the internet. When I got ready to self-publish, I realized LULU doesn't work with Publisher. I had to convert my novel to a PDF file. Then, I chose glossy and thick paper so for the graphic novel pages so that my artwork will look beautiful, even though this paper is expensive. I also added a barcode from LULU on the back cover so that I can promote it globally and in bookstores, which includes Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, and many other sites, besides LULU. But I discounted my book on LULU. I finally self-published my graphic novel, Dream Vignettes, in May 2019.

During Winter 2019, I started thinking about writing a sequel to create my trilogy. I decided the third novel will be a murder mystery. I started writing the sequel soon after, and I often got writer's block. I did some writing exercises as well as took some breaks to get ideas. But, now, I am stuck somewhere in the middle of the novel. I recently wrote out the conclusion so that I can work backward toward where I am currently stuck. I seem to help a little because I wrote out some ideas. I decided to use the same main character for this third novel as well as write it in a journal format because it keeps me organized. I am still working on the rough draft before I start editing.

My education helped me do everything on my own, which includes a BA in Social Science, Executive MBA, and a Diploma in Graphic Design.