My Writing Process: From Concept to Completed Manuscript
A dreamy location and a spark of an idea—that’s how a new book usually starts for me. But my writing process has evolved over time. When I wrote my debut, The Half of It, I had no idea how to write a book with no experience. I had a loose outline with a few key plot points, and that was about it. I’m glad I didn’t try to over-plot my book and instead let myself go through the process, but now that I’m building a career, I approach my books more strategically.
If I have a new idea, I follow a full, structured approach that still leaves room for that literary magic. If you’ve ever wondered how a published romance author can take a story from the first idea to a finished book, here’s a closer look at my writing process for a book, step by step.
Step 1 - A Foundation of Tropes & Destinations
To peek at my writing process for a book, for beginners or advanced authors, I’d say that most of my stories begin with a place. I’ll visit a destination or daydream about one and think, I want to write a love story here. That initial inspiration is all about vibe: sun-warmed streets, a cozy café, maybe a beach at golden hour. From there, I start weaving in the story.
When I was a total newbie, I didn’t think too much about tropes—The Half of It was more about the feeling of a vacation and the charm of a small town than any specific trope. But now? I love tropes. I use them to build reader expectations and to create the kind of structure that gives a story momentum.
I like the tropes to play off the destination in some way. For Match Made in the Maldives, for example, Luna and Finley go to the most romantic destination in the world…on a family/found family trip, and they’re the only two single people there. The intense romance of the destination helped to turn their friendship into something more.
Step 2: Plotting & Planning a Romance Book
I didn’t always plot things out. But as I’ve grown as a writer, outlining has become a core part of my process. I now draft a full outline before I write a single scene—usually with a paragraph for each one, giving me a clear path from beginning to end.
Once I’ve gotten some critique partner eyes on the outline, I revise and consider it ready to go. With that information I create location cards, kind of like visual mood boards for each setting in the book. It helps me with immersive scene writing and continuity.
As for character work, I like to figure out a few important things about them in advance:
A few basic personality traits (that may feed into the tropes used)
Their big goal throughout the book
What they falsely believe about the world
What they will learn by the end of the book
Understanding what they want (and what scares them most) helps shape both plot and emotional arcs.
Step 3: Writing the First Draft of a Novel
As long as I’ve put in the work into Step 2, writing the first draft of a book is the most enjoyable part of the whole process. Drafting is where the story comes alive—and lately, I’ve been really into making my own writing retreats. With a solid outline in place, I can get 25,000+ words written in just a few focused days (I talk a bit about how I’ve done it before here).
I write in Scrivener, my book writing software of choice, with lofi music in the background. No lyrics, no distractions. I typically set a pomodoro timer so that I give myself little breaks, and I make sure to enrich my writing days with other activities that fill up my cup, like outdoors time, good meals, and reading craft-related books.
Step 4: Time to Edit (& Edit & Edit)
The hard work begins with the editing phases. I like to think of things in 4 distinct sections:
Developmental edits are where I resolve any big-picture issues (pacing, plotholes, etc.). I do a round of self-developmental edits, hand it off to critique partners, and then edit again from there.
I like to do all of my own line edits, which is where I refine the prose, pacing, and amp up the emotion. This is also about figuring out when is the best time to tell each part of the story, and sometimes it can feel like playing Tetris when I’m moving paragraphs around and improving the flow. Once this is done, off to beta readers it goes!
Once I implement beta reader feedback, the story has really taken its final form. From here I need copy edits—some done by me, and then by a professional. These are seemingly minor but in fact very influential changes to word choice and structure.
After all the copy edits, then it’s time for proofreading to catch any final grammatical errors. I do some myself and share that document with my proofreader to finalize the manuscript.
When authors talk about how they have read their manuscript so many times that they almost can’t stand it anymore, this is what they’re talking about! With every round of edits, I’m usually reading the book more than once. By that point, I could probably recite it back to you.
Step 5: Preparing to Self Publish a Book
This is about how I write a book and get it published—and while I did go through the querying process (see here), I ultimately decided to self publish my debut novel. I’m so glad I did! It gave me such a great overview of the publishing process, and I can always aim for traditional in the future.
The final stage of publishing is incredibly exciting, and a lot happens at once. There are the inevitable final tweaks, book formatting (which I do myself in Atticus), file uploads, ARC reader outreach, cover art delivery, promotion, marketing outreach, and event planning if I hope to do a release party. It’s a LOT, but it’s typically all manageable, if a little hectic. I do my best to enjoy this stage despite the stress, because it means I’ve almost gotten to the very best part!
Step 6: Release Day & Celebration
The day of the book release, I take time to remind ARC readers to review, and I send emails to all the folks included in my Acknowledgements section. But as much as I can, I just try to enjoy the day!
There’s still much work that goes on after a book is released—lots of marketing, podcast appearances, social media, and more—but actually getting the book out into the world is such a feat on its own! I always make sure to celebrate the hard work.
So How Long Does it Take to Self Publish a Book?
I don’t have an extensive list of book writing process steps, but I’ve learned that every project moves at its own pace. The Half of It took around two years of writing and revising before I even sent it to beta readers. My second book is going much faster. And Match Made in the Maldives practically sprinted to the finish line. On top of the natural flow for a project, I’m also juggling multiple manuscripts, shifting my focus depending on what stage each one is in.
At the end of the day, it takes as long as it takes. A little deadline pressure can help, but great stories need space to breathe. Giving myself that room has helped me tighten my process and figure out what works and what doesn’t. Writing is never a one-size-fits-all experience, and that’s part of why I love it so much!