I love writing. It’s my passion. Heck, it’s more than that: if I didn’t write, I wouldn’t be me. I’ve scribbled stories since I just about got the hang of how to string letters together. Between writing, editing and marketing, writing is also my favourite part of the process. Why? I’ll try to break down for you on a difficulty scale what I think.

Writing – easiest by far of the three

Ideas come pretty easily to me. I never struggle for a new direction to take my plot; in fact, more often than not, I have to remove a storyline if it isn’t absolutely relevant to my main plot. I also find it quite easy to get my ideas out of my head and into a word document. I enjoy going with the flow of a first draft and find it quite relaxing.

Editing – moderately difficult, but doable

I don’t find editing as difficult as I used to a decade ago. But there are still things I can do to make the process easier – like making sure to take a sufficient amount of time off after finishing a novel manuscript, in order to clear my head of the story, and get a fresh perspective. Mistakes are easier to see after a week or two off. Of course, it also helps to run it by my editor and beta readers for story and character feedback, which helps a lot.

Marketing – still learning on the job

I’ll be completely honest and admit I’m ‘winging it’ on the marketing side of things. I seriously feel like my marketing strategies are all trial and error, and although it’s been more hit than miss in the past year with the techniques I’ve tried, marketing still baffles me and I consider myself a novice rather than a pro, or even an accomplished layperson. At some point, I may enrol myself on a marketing course but for now, I’m content to do the budget-friendly option of experimenting to see what works, or doesn’t.

Posted by on July 15, 2023 in Publishing, Writing and tagged , , , .

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About Leilanie Stewart

Leilanie Stewart is an award-winning author and poet from Belfast, Northern Ireland. She writes ghost and psychological horror, as well as experimental poetry. Her writing confronts the nature of self; her novels feature main characters on a dark psychological journey who have a crisis and create a new sense of identity. She began writing for publication while working as an English teacher in Japan, a career pathway that has influenced themes in her writing. Her former career as an Archaeologist has also inspired her writing and she has incorporated elements of archaeology and mythology into both her fiction and poetry. In addition to promoting her own work, Leilanie runs Bindweed Anthologies, a creative writing publication with her writer husband, Joseph Robert. Aside from publishing pursuits, Leilanie enjoys spending time with her husband and their lively literary lad, a voracious reader of sea monster books.

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  1. Unknown's avatar The Blue Man one year bookiversary – what I’ve learned about how to sell books | Leilanie Stewart says:
    July 29, 2023 at 9:28 AM

    […] wrote a blog post recently about which is hardest between writing, editing and marketing. Other writers have since engaged when I shared that post on social media with their own thoughts […]

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