From 2003 to 2008 I went through a crucible of learning on how to write, market and publish a novel. The experience was a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs, and at times painful and frustrating. Below is the first of many articles I want to share with you in the hope I can help you. I’ll tell you and show you what I did right and what I did wrong with the hope my experience can make your writing journey a little easier.
For years, I dreamed of writing a novel. Finally I decided to make that dream come true. I put all my work aside and focused all of my energy on writing. I had previously read everything I could about novel writing. I began the research for The Secret Scroll in 2003 by reading hundreds of pages written by some of the world’s most renowned scholars, historians and archaeologists.
I started writing the first draft in January 2004. Writing The Secret Scroll was a challenge. The challenge was to take the traditional plot driven suspense-thriller and add a strong protagonist character arc and a love story. I also wanted to present universal themes against hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism and still have a riveting page turner.
The Secret Scroll is a mixture of facts, fiction and historical speculation.
It takes a lot of passion and discipline to write a first novel. Prior to 2003, I read over 200 books on writing, especially novel writing.
I had a story to tell and that’s what drove me. I read about the writing habits of Hemingway, Stephen King and other writers. I learned that King’s daily goal was to write 2500 words. He started in the morning and finished usually around noon, and on a few days wrote till 3pm. Hemingway started at 8am and wrote to noon (at which time he began his drinking). I made the decision to duplicate King and write 2000-2500 words each day. It took me two months before I was able to do it. I started writing at 4:30am and wrote till 6:30 and then would walk four miles listening to Stephen King on Writing and also other writers and teachers. At 8am I resumed writing usually till 6pm. I spent countless hours writing eight drafts and in the end, completed the journey with the publication of my novel.
In The Secret Scroll you’ll meet Josh Cohan, an American Biblical archaeologist, who goes to Israel and there discovers the cave of his dreams. Inside he finds the greatest discovery of the modern era, a two-thousand-year-old scroll that contains the diary of the most influential figure in the history of Western Civilization—Jesus. Josh’s discovery puts him in danger from a violent ancient religious sect that conspires to destroy him, the woman he loves and his astonishing find. Josh evolves from a work obsessed archaeologist disillusioned with humanity to discover strength of will that changes him in remarkable ways.
Most of my research [75 books] focused on the search for the historic Jesus, not the Biblical one. My intention was to write an ecumenical book, my first readers were an orthodox Jew, a Mormon and a born again Christian. My editor was a Catholic and because I thought it was important to have a woman look over my novel, my final editor was a woman.
I didn’t write The Secret Scroll to change anyone’s beliefs, but to make readers think. I wanted my book to be a fun easy read, and not to be taken too seriously.
If you have never been to Israel, you’ll have an opportunity to feel the magic of the land and visit more than 30 historical and biblical sites that are an essential part of The Secret Scroll.
I had outlined my novel before writing, but as I started to write, everything began to change, as my characters began to find their own voices. My imagination was so stimulated that for the first-time in my life, I didn’t sleep well. Dreams and visions flooded my mind. Things happened I’ll never be able to explain.
I’m too close to my novel to be objective so I sent copies to three of my favorite thriller writers who were also New York Times Bestselling authors and was amazed that all three responded.
James Rollins called The Secret Scroll, “a thriller that is bound to shake the world.”
Steve Berry said, “Action and logic make for a worthy debut.”
And Douglas Preston wrote, “The Secret Scroll is an extraordinary novel, a thrill-ride from its opening scene of discovery to the breathtaking, prophetic finish.”
I was really surprised when the American Booksellers Association’s chose The Secret Scroll as a February BookSense Notable Selection.
And the Jewish Book Council selected The Secret Scroll as one of their picks for the spring World of Books–rare for a thriller.
This is the first article of many on writing a novel. Future articles will go into more detail on what I learned–the things I did right and the mistakes I made. I will show you some techniques to use on developing character, pacing, suspense, work habits, and many more things that will help you climb the mountain of writing and publishing your novel. In addition, I will share with you how to market and not market your book. I hope to clear up the maze that stands in your way of writing and publishing your book, and make dealing with writing and publishing a little easier. My goal is to help aspiring novelists, those who have written one, and those who are curious about how you write one.
To all of you…good luck and may these articles help you on your journey.
Ronald Cutler
Next – Getting started.