I've always known that writing is not difficult. One simply thinks of a story, gets into the head of the main character and lets the story unfold. The brain transfers thoughts to the fingers and the story appears on the screen and later paper. After a while we all read back over what we have written, make some changes, add a few more details for clarity, and maybe even go a different direction. Sometimes the story peters out and it is either put aside or trashed. All that is easy.

The difficulty begins when we think the story has merit. Then we have to work at it to make it interesting to others. We have to consider: settings, scenes, characters, plots and sub plots, how to develop tension that moves the story toward the crisis, how that crisis will be resolved and where and how the story will end. An author must actually exercise his brain for this step but it's not hard work.

The steps become more and more difficult as the work progresses. Once a novel has taken shape the editing process begins. The author must consider strong verb choices and how to avoid using the same verbs and adjectives over and over. He has to keep the dialogue within the persona of the characters and actually change voices for the different characters. Metaphors and similes for mood and emotions must be developed that are not cliches. Punctuation and spelling must be meticulously honed for clarity and readability. Each sentence must be examined to make sure it says exactly what the author wants and to assure the same information is not repeated. Each sentence must come from either the thoughts, actions, or voice of the characters. The author should not talk to the audience.

The real painful work comes after the story is written and honed. Writing a query letter of three paragraphs and less than 300 words that still tells the story in a way that interests an agent or editor is like pulling your own teeth. A one page synopsis showing the entire book is even more difficult.

The stage of novel development that may be the most painful for an author is what happens after the initial ego rush of being published. Writers write. But with the ever changing market place for novels today, many novels are being published by smaller publishing companies with limited promotional budgets. Much of the marketing of a new novel is left up to the author. Most authors are ill equipped to skillfully handle that task easily.