writing for hire

On Zero-Drafts and Finding Myself Through the Mess

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on March 17th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

I recently finished the "zero-draft" of the write-for-hire project I've been working on for the past few months. To my surprise and delight, it ended up right at the assigned word count (between 35-40,000 words). Thanks to my very detailed outline/synopsis, I had a solid sense of what I needed to write, but there was no guarantee that it would take the correct amount of words to get it all on the page. Typing "The End" at just over 38K felt so satisfying, like my authorly instincts were on point. 

Of course, this was just a zero-draft. What do I mean by that? 

When you're writing a book under contract, you'll have a due date for the first draft. This will be the first time your editor (and others on the team—in this case, the client) reads the whole book. But ideally, the draft you turn in isn't the very first draft you finish writing. Thus: zero-draft. 

A zero-draft can be full of plot holes. It can have notes in the margins, like, "Rewrite this interaction later" and "What day of the week is it, again?" The writing isn't necessarily polished, or even grammatically correct. Writing a zero-draft is about sketching out the story, start to finish. A zero-draft isn't mean to be read (by your editor or, really, anyone other than you). It's meant to exist, because you can't edit a blank page. 

So, as I said, earlier this week I finished my zero-draft. Not counting the three chapters I'd already written as part of my audition for the project, and then polished up for the "proof of concept" proposal, it took me a little under five weeks to complete. (I am immensely proud of that pace, by the way, considering I've been dealing with a retinal detachment in my left eye!) Now, I'm fixing things. Editing for continuity. Fleshing out two-dimensional characters. Adding connective threads between scenes and chapters. This is the fun part of writing a book: when you can see, with every change you make, that it is becoming better. 

A friend recently expressed astonishment that I have been able to work through this whole retinal detachment situation. I'll admit, it hasn't been easy, especially right after the repair procedures were done, but...being able to work through this has saved me. Meeting—exceeding—my word count goals each day gave me both a sense of purpose and a creative outlet, when the only other thing I could do was nap on the couch. (Believe it or not, one can only take so many midday naps!) Knowing that I'm going to hit my deadline at the end of this month, despite everything—and that I'm going to send in something I feel good about—is incredibly gratifying.  

I'm a person who prefers to keep busy. In general, I like for my days to have a purpose and a plan. And I enjoy writing. It makes me happy. 

I also enjoy vacations—and trust me, it felt absolutely magical to be at Disney World without my laptop for an entire workweek. 

But I'd been looking forward to getting back to work when we returned from Florida, and having to have emergency eye surgery really threw me for a loop. During those first few days post-procedure, I clung to the hour or so each morning that I could spend writing. During those hours, I felt like me. 

It reminded me of when, less than a year postpartum, I was invited to join rehearsals for a dance performance that was being put on by two of my longtime contemporary teachers/choreographers. Even in my first rehearsal with the group, my new-mom body still strange in constantly-shifting ways, I felt like me. As rehearsals went on, it was like stepping back into myself, over and over and over.  

Sitting down at my computer each morning, the past few weeks, has been another kind of stepping back into myself. And yes, I have earned a break after this. Yes, I plan to get a massage (when my eye doctor gives me the okay). Yes, I may take extra dance and yoga classes this spring to make up for these long, sedentary weeks at home. But I don't want to ever stop writing. I can't stop creating, dreaming, building. It's just not who I am.

~Kathryn  

What I'm: 

Reading: Due to my eye situation, I’ve started listening to audiobooks! I finished the audiobook of The Likeness (an Irish murder mystery) and also listened to a short rom-com called Love at First Psych, about two college students paired together for a project on love at first sight for their psychology class. It was cute! 

Watching: We rewatched "The Mandalorian" and are now caught up on season 3. I also can't wait to start season 2 of "Shadow and Bone" on Netflix. The first season of that one was so good! 

Cooking (sort of...): My daughter had green oatmeal and green milk this morning for breakfast, and she was absolutely certain the food coloring made it all taste especially green. 

Loving: Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, apparently my kiddo's teacher read a book about leprechauns yesterday, which inspired her to create her own leprechaun trap. (She was convinced one was going to sneak into her room overnight and steal her pot of gold! Aka her piggie bank...) Here's her chalk diagram of the trap, including disgruntled leprechaun. The pot of gold at the far left is the bait.  

Let's Talk About "Writing for Hire"

This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on October 21st, 2022. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.

This week, for the first time in a very, very long time, I started writing something completely new. I opened a blank Scrivener document. I wrote "1" at the top of the first page. And then I stared at the blank screen.

And stared. And stared.

Starting a new book from scratch is a bit daunting. It's hard to know exactly where to begin—and in many cases, writers begin at the wrong spot entirely and end up cutting the first few pages or even chapters down the line. I've heard this referred to as "clearing your throat," a.k.a. getting some stuff out of your system and out of your way before reaching the nitty-gritty of the story. Some level of throat-clearing is necessary, of course. Chances are, you aren't going to write the perfect first line on Day One, so you might as well write forward. It's better to get words on the page than to be paralyzed from the start.

If I were working on something that's entirely for me, this early-drafting phase would be like messing around. Playing in the sandbox. Seeing what feels right.

But, as it turns out, this new thing I'm starting is not entirely for me. It's an audition for a write-for-hire project, a sample chapter that will help the editor and the creator of the project decide whether I'm the right writer to make their vision a reality. So, strangely, a lot more is riding on this first chapter than if I were starting a book of my own. Even if it were to change entirely in edits, it has to be solid enough now to land me the job!

I've auditioned for a write-for-hire gig before, and I've also done some freelance ghostwriting. The previous WFH tryout was back in 2018, and it was for a chapter book series about animals that had various jobs. I wrote a sample about Chef Cheetah and his search for his missing mozzarella. (I think I can talk about this now because, as far as I know, this series never actually became a thing? At least, not in the way it was described to me at the time...) After I'd turned in my sample, I found out that at least one other children's book author in my immediate network had also auditioned for the job. Neither of us got it...and, as I said, I don't know if the series ever saw the light of day.

But! My agent loved what I'd written. She suggested I try my hand at an original chapter book idea. I was into that suggestion—and what resulted was Tally Tuttle Turns into a Turtle. So, while that particular WFH audition was a bust, it did ultimately send my career in a new direction!

On the ghostwriting front, I spent 2019-2021 working with an adult science-fiction writer who self-published a series on Amazon. Some ghostwriting jobs involve writing books from scratch, but in this case, he wrote first-drafts that I then edited and enhanced, in some instances almost doubling the word count. I worked on seven books with him, over three years, and each time he trusted me to fill in more story and characterization. (The first book was already published when I got my hands on it; it hadn't been selling well and he wanted someone to beef it up. By book seven, he was sending me slim chapters one or two at a time, as he wrote them, and I fleshed them out into a full story arc!)

With the ghostwriting gig, my name is not attached to the work. I was hired in a strictly behind-the-scenes role. And that's fine! These books are this guy's thing, and I don't need credit! I was paid for my time and effort.

With writing-for-hire, there are a number of ways in which the writer can be acknowledged and/or credited (or not). You might be working with a celebrity author, and that's whose name will be on the cover. (Yours won't.) Or you might be published under a pseudonym. Or you might be listed as a "with"—i.e. BIG NAME AUTHOR, with Kathryn Holmes. Or you might get to be the actual author, on the cover and title page! Contracts (and fees) will vary.

What matters with writing-for-hire is that the concept and outline/story are someone else's intellectual property. Someone else—a celebrity, a book packager, the publisher—has an idea that they are hiring you to execute. You might have some freedom within that template, but the book is not your baby. Someone else has the final say on what gets sent to print.

A lot of authors do write-for-hire work in addition to publishing their own books, and a lot of books are published each year that you might not know are IP projects! (IP = intellectual property, for those paying attention.) It's not just Star Wars and Marvel novelizations—some books that have original concepts fall into this category, simply because the publisher or a book packager had an idea that they hired a writer to write.

So back to my sample chapter! I can't say what it's for, other than that the client is a nonfiction writer who wants to branch into fiction. I don't know if I'll get the contract, and if I do, whether I'll be able to speak about it publicly. But I wanted to write about it here because WFH is an increasingly large part of the publishing game—and a great way for authors to earn some extra money in between solo deals.

That said, I really do want this—the subject matter and ethos of the project are a great fit for me—so please cross your fingers the client likes what I've done!

Until next week...

~Kathryn

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is running its BookStop promotion until December 5th! I've got pages up for all three Class Critters books. You can check them out here:

Chances are, if you're a regular reader of this newsletter, you have already bought a book or two...but if you're so inclined, you could share these BookStop links with your friends and family! You can also leave a comment in the Guest Book on each page, to tell anyone who browses the BookStop how great the Class Critters kids are.

We're launching into holiday gift-giving season, and BOOKS are one of the best gifts any kid can receive!

What I'm:

Reading: As promised last week, I'm reading the third American Royals book, Rivals. (To be honest, I've been too busy to do a ton of reading this week, so I'm not very far into it! But that has nothing to do with the quality of the book.)

Watching: "Floor is Lava" inexplicably has a third season on Netflix. Even more inexplicably...my husband and I have already blazed through it. ;)

Dancing to: Who remembers Ray LaMontagne's peak in the 2000s? My dance teacher brought another blast from the past (i.e. my mid-20s...) into class this week by setting choreography to "Duet," sung by Rachel Yamagata and LaMontagne. I definitely felt some feelings to this song circa 2008...

Loving: It finally feels like fall!