How to Go on a Writing Retreat
Also my book is out NEXT WEEK!
Getting away and also what is work?
Dear Readers,
I can’t believe At Her Service is out in just a few days (in the US! If you’re in the UK, the ebook is already out!)! If you haven’t yet preordered it, the best place to do so is from Skylight Books. The page says there’s no guarantee after February 7 but I checked stock with the store and we are NOT out of stickers so PREORDER AWAY! Also, truly, there is no bad way to preorder the book; get it through your local indie or B&N or Amazon or request your library to stock it! There’s just no bad way to get it! Except stealing it from the arms of an innocent person, that’s so rude, why would you do it?
I went on a writing retreat a couple of weeks ago. This is an annual-ish thing I do with my friends Kayla and Jasmine. We have gotten it down to a science at this point, a routine that works very well for us, so I thought I would share it with y’all. If you know me well or at least OK-ish for a few years, you’ll know that I am NOT A FAN of advice that’s supposed to apply to everyone. So just know that this advice is very much in the vein of “if this works for you, amazing, and if not, that is so cool too!”
We always make sure our AirBNB has enough bedrooms for all of us AND a hot tub because that is key to our post-working relaxation at night. This year we were lucky enough to snag a place that also had our own bathrooms which felt bonkers luxurious (it was the same price as a bunch of places with fewer bathrooms? maybe because some of the rooms were slightly ugly/generic? I did not care?).
I’m a weird creature of I LOVE A LI’L ERRAND ON A TRIP, so each morning I’d place a Starbucks order for coffee and whatevers to pick up for all three of us. We had a little chitchat in the morning but for the most part we were already thinking about work, which we did until lunchtime. We preordered a bunch of groceries to pick up when we got into town, so we were able to put together our own lunches on our own timetables and either keep working or take a break as one wanted. We kept working until happy hour-ish time, when we went somewhere for a cocktail or two, and then from there to dinner, and basically from there into the hot tub and then into our rooms for the night.
For me this routine works super well because there is a well-defined time (basically the span of a standard 9-5 workday) for work. This means when I am drinking whiskey cocktails or eating pasta or getting boiled but in a happy way in a hot tub I am not all “EGADS WHAT ABOUT MY NOVEL!” And also my friends are respectful; our work time is our work time. No one is trying to start chitterchatter about other stuff, we are all there to accomplish shit!
This was an interesting year for me. I talked a bit about this in my post last week, but my goal when I left for the trip was to get a little early drafting done (i.e. the terrifying expanse of Page One) and fill in an outline a little. I also wanted to glance over some of the research I’d already done, now that it had all had a chance to marinate a bit in my brain. This book has (so far) required more research than anything else I’ve ever written, which is not at all highway to my comfort zone. I am fortunate that even so, I had a lot of people who were willing to help me even as I felt a little like a fraud typing down interesting things while my brain spun in circles and I thought about people who, you know, write historical fiction or nonfiction or you know anything that requires more facts than what is the best burger in Los Angeles!
Anyway I’ve kind of gone off track here but I am not only the writer of this newsletter I am its only editor so here we keep going. I ended up having another research interview while I was still on the retreat, and so the last day of writing turned into research + a lot of silent mulling/marinating/stewing/other food prep metaphors. When I chatted with friends on how much work I did, I lamented losing that last day even if ultimately the work was valuable. After like four people were like “AMY THAT COUNTS AS WRITING” I was like, oh right, that IS writing, and if someone else had asked me if that day counted as working on their novel OF COURSE I would have said yes.
(When this book comes out in (no-jinxing) 2026 (woof) I just feel like you’re all gonna be like, wait, this is the book with this much research? It’s still just mostly shenanigans?)
So remember that the work in a retreat — or your standard workday — or whenever it is that you’re trying to accomplish something — won’t always look like what you expect, and even people like me who have done this a bunch before will need to be reminded of it sometimes and that is OK I GUESS!
Please come to my events, readers! First up, Los Angeles, I will be at Skylight Books on Monday, February 19, at 7pm PST. I would GENUINELY love to see your face! I’ll be in conversation with your fave and mine Mackenzi Lee so you know it’s gonna be a good time!
Next, St. Louis, I’ll be at Left Bank Books on Saturday, February 24, at 4pm CST. St. Louis: I would also love to see YOUR faces! Hometown events are always extra special to me, so it’ll be a good one!
Below, I have SO MUCH GREAT ADVICE from Elizabeth Eulberg!
xoxoAmy
Where did the Consumption column go? Readers, truly, I haven’t been consuming that many new things lately. When I am I will get back to it!
I am very much enjoying True Detective: Jodie Foster though!
Get Your Ask On
Today we’ve got advice from Elizabeth Eulberg, author of Better off Friends and so many more!
I want to start writing a novel, but I'm so overwhelmed. How do I get going instead of waiting any longer?
EE: It can be extremely overwhelming to think about sitting down to write an entire novel. I find it helpful to break it down. Once I have a basic outline and the characters somewhat figured out (I like to know where I'm going, but give myself room while writing), I make daily goals. A book is written word by word, sentence by sentence, so I like to think of it in chunks. And if you need to, give yourself a reward if you hit a certain goal. Back when I had a demanding day job, I would sometimes need to write 10K over the weekend. If I hit it, I treated myself to a very fancy cupcake--whatever works!
Generally, when writing a first draft, I aim for 2K a day--that's a lot. BUT! I'm a very fast first drafter. For me, I like to get that first draft down so I have something to build on. I look at it more as the skeleton of the story. The most important thing to remember is that your first draft is going to be a hot mess. Don't strive for perfection when writing that first draft, just get words down. You'll have plenty of drafts to work on description, develop characters, add more kissing--you know, the important things.
And something I remind myself a lot, never compare your first draft to someone else's final draft. The books you see on your bookshelf are probably the author's fifth or twelfth or (in the case of my debut, The Lonely Hearts Club) twenty-seventh draft. YUP. TWENTY-SEVENTH. They have been professionally edited. I'd never want anybody to see my first drafts. I think what trips up a lot of people when they sit down to write the first time, is that they think everything needs to be perfect and figured out. NOPE. Just sit down and start writing. You can do it!
I'm worried all the cool ideas and tropes have already been done! Should I quit my manuscript?
EE: Absolutely not! There's the famous saying, there are only seven stories in fiction and the rest are based on them. What makes the story that you're writing unique is that YOU are writing it. Your voice is different. Your perspective is solely yours. Did people stop writing enemies to lovers after Jane Austen? Of course not and thank goodness for that, right?
It's also important to not pay attention to trends. Trends come and go. A few years ago I was told romcoms were dead. HA! Also don't write simply to chase a trend. If you don't love your story, but writing so you can become the next [Insert Current Hot Author], you'll be miserable. Write from your heart. Write the story you want to read, chances are there are readers out there for your story.
I finished my manuscript and it's time to start revising, but I have no idea how to get started.
EE: I always do one or two rounds of revisions on my own, working to build out the story. When I need a fresh set of eyes, I'll ask a friend to read it. Find someone you trust, who will give you constructive feedback and not just tell you you're brilliant (even though you clearly are!). I ask them to let me know if there are parts they find boring, if something was confusing, if they didn't like a particular section--sure, it's nice to hear if they like something, but the feedback I don't want to get is that it's fine. I WANT to hear the problems as that's the only way I'm going to get better as a writer. Also, completely unsolicited plug for Amy Spalding who offers editing packages. When I was stuck on a book, I hired her and got SUCH great and SPECIFIC advice to help make the manuscript even stronger. [editor’s note: ELIZABETH THIS IS SO SWEET AND KIND!]
If you have any questions about writing, publishing, revising, genres, querying, being on submission, etc., reply to this email and ask! Your question may be featured in an upcoming newsletter!
At Her Service is out on Tuesday!
Remember, if you order from Skylight Books, you will receive these EXCLUSIVE and ADORABLE stickers!
(I will also have stickers AT the Skylight event, as well as the Left Bank Book event!)
A sweetly sexy, thoroughly modern new novel about single life, social media, career goals, and making the bold move to grab your own happiness—and write your own love story.
Max Van Doren has a wish list, and a great career and a girlfriend are at the top. But despite being pretty good at her job as an assistant to one of Hollywood’s fastest rising talent agents, she has no idea how to move up the ladder. And when it comes to her love life, she’s stuck in perpetual lust for an adorably perfect bartender named Sadie. Her goals are clear—and Max has everything but the self-confidence to go for them. Even her mother seems to assume she’ll be crawling home to her childhood bedroom at some point . . .
When Max’s roommate, Chelsey—an irritatingly gorgeous and self-assured influencer in plus-size and queer spaces—offers to sponsor her for a new self-actualization app, Max gives in. If she can’t run her own life, maybe an algorithm guiding her choices will help? Suddenly Max is scoring big everywhere, and her dreams are achingly close to coming true. But when one of Chelsey’s posts reveals Sadie’s part in the app’s campaign, Max is poised for heartbreak on all fronts. Tired of the sponcon life with its fake friends and endless selfies, Max realizes that to have true influence, she’ll have to find the courage to make her own, totally authentic way in the world.
“Spalding brings her twentysomething protagonists to life in this romance that delivers on both the heroine’s self-actualization journey and her happily-ever-after. A must buy” —Library Journal
I did just consume an eggplant parm sandwich and I feel great about it.