What Counts as Book Research?

As a baby author (hopefully soon to secure a book deal, but always subject to the woes of luck and timing), I've put a lot of thought over the last few years into what constitutes my book research.

For the better, I think, being a writer forces me out of my comfort zone with the particular security blanket of undergoing emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual discomfort "for the book." While you might think of writing as a shy or reserved pursuit (and I do have plenty of introversion), writing a book is also a helpful excuse and layer that allows me to be brave and bold and stupid for the sake of a good story. The very epitome of doing something "for the plot."

I like to write from reality. I prefer fiction that feels vivid and rooted in specificity. That doesn't mean that anything I write is true to life (in fact, just the opposite.) Reality is the springboard of sensation that allows me to dream up a more cinematic flavor that will provoke specific emotion within my fiction. But I do need and crave that initial foundation of inspiration.

One discussion I loved within Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (which I just read and reviewed) was how the events that unfold and the art that results from them are two wholly separate entities. Even if you read everything I ever wrote, you would not be able to correctly identify everything that inspired my understanding and instinct of my specific portrayal of an individual moment (and their greater patterns too.) Because the format of any expression relies on its limitation.

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“Did Billy's actions really warrant the song? Probably not. I mean, no. They didn't. But that's the thing. Art doesn't owe anything to anyone. Songs are about how it felt, not the facts. Self-expression is about what it feels like to live, not about whether you had the right to claim any emotion at any time...Everyone wants somebody to hold up the right mirror. It's like they're introducing you to a part of yourself.”

“They're songs. You pull them out of whatever you can. You change the meanings to fit the moments sometimes. Some songs came more from my heart than others, I suppose.”

The Finances of Book Research

I've written about the finances of writing a book before in detail in my newsletter, but writing a book is of course a huge financial uncertainty. For most debut fiction (in traditional publishing) at least, you do the bulk of the work before ever seeing a penny—with the hope that your finished manuscript will sell to a publishing house for enough money to justify the blood, sweat, tears, and pain. Nonfiction authors and others who write on proposal have their own trials and tribulations.

For me, I didn't generally charge anything "for the book" until I signed with my first literary agency. You of course are an author before that, but that was the line for me in feeling secure in investing in myself and my work—and to feel comfortable justifying my process and spending to the IRS.

I run my own LLC, Words Like Silver LLC. When I signed, I put a lot of thought and analysis into the best business structure for my goals. My current goal is to be able to do what I love and am passionate about, and be funded for what I would do "naturally"—in this case, writing and reading. Right now, I'm still in a building phase in laying out a lot of the infrastructure. I'm a creative of course, but I'm also a very logical person, and one of my goals is to be financially secure in the way I grew up in (or better.) I contribute to my retirement funds. I have investments. I'm a hard worker and know when to cut my losses and pivot. Taxes are a ridiculous headache, in this line of work.

One of the biggest pieces of advice you'll receive if you're an author aspiring for a book deal from other writers is to "write your next" while your current book is under consideration. It's a way to keep from going a little crazy. But I've always hated that advice because it doesn't account for the limits of fresh eyes, for opportunity cost, etc,. Part of what makes a good book (in my opinion) is the life in between one book and the next, the space that allows the writer and the reader to bring new perspective to a given work.

One of the first things I would do upon getting a book deal is to determine the proportion of each that would go to paying any business or personal expenses, investments in marketing or PR (there's a whole conversation going on nowadays about authors, especially authors of means, investing in such an uncertain industry and whether or not they should), the proportion of my workday and schedule that would go towards book work versus other paid work, future book research, etc,. So let's talk about the last segment, because that's fun!

What Impacts My Writing

I've mentioned before that my personal definition of happiness involves sensory variation (a blog post I will transfer over soon)—which goes against Milan Kundera's idea that happiness is the desire for repetition. In the past weeks, I've thought about the pursuit of awe, meditation, the role in contrast for joy à la The Count of Monte Cristo, the temptation to consolidate everything into narrative, how my passion for travel contributes to that craving, awareness of attachment styles and the optimal distance of connection, the pursuit of novelty (and dopamine), you name it. All of these topics (and the activity of reading itself) deepen and intensify my own creative writing.

Writing, after all, is just another form of thinking made visible to other people, so anything I'm thinking about / doing / remembering bleeds into whatever makes it onto the page. Such is the meta aspect of the pursuit.

And I do think it keeps my writing fresh and exciting to experience lots of different things! I'd be curious whether — if you bundled up and tested a bunch of writers — we'd test highly for openness or the reverse (because we might process emotion indirectly via language.)

Where I Am in My Writing Process

I wrote MOUNTAIN SOUNDS ages ago. I've gutted and rewritten it four or five full times, each with a different understanding or lens.

This fall, I burnt myself out on revisions in preparing it to go out to publishing houses. I took a step back. I'm revisiting it for the (hopefully final) time with finally-fresh eyes after taking an actual break for the first time in years.

I've known what the next book I'm going to write — previously nicknamed COVE, currently nicknamed SUN GUILT — and I would love to write a sequel or companion to MOUNTAIN SOUNDS. I know what that plot would be too. When MOUNTAIN SOUNDS goes on submission in 2025, I'll think through what would go into the sequel vs. what details I would retain to flesh out MOUNTAIN SOUNDS in further, post-acquisition edits. (Because yes, I would edit and rewrite even more if a publisher picks up this one, because each person's fingerprint affects the book.)

I have my next three or four book ideas sitting, unsharpened, simmering in my brain. So I'm collecting sensations and ideas for those too, sorting them mentally (and via pinned phone notes) to determine what feels the most accurate for each storyline.

Research-wise, I can still justify activities or purchases related to the book before MOUNTAIN SOUNDS goes out, but I'd have a lot harder time connecting an expense to this book if the sequel doesn't sell (or if the first one doesn't, obviously) unless it's directly connected to the marketing process. So, of course, there's some personal judgement involved.

What I Hope to Do Next for Book Research

so beautiful

In 2024, I was in a very interior zone of existence. I wrote 100+ articles; I queried literary agencies with a <0.01% acceptance rate (and secured new representation) and rewrote my book again. I spent a lot of time and energy building up my journalism portfolio and reputation. Lord.

So in 2025, I'm excited to spend more time getting outside of my head and collecting more external experience. Being more open!

For the hopeful sequel to MOUNTAIN SOUNDS, I know that I want to use the love interest, Miller, as a separate POV if not the main one. I haven't written a book using a male narrator before, but have a complete understanding of who he is. (Also, one aspect that's funny: my guy friends once spent an entire trivia night guessing "my type" and he is not at all mine except for being fundamentally good and kind—but he is Tatum, my main character's, romantic type of course.) In MOUNTAIN SOUNDS, Miller is on the climbing staff which is how he interacts with the main camp staff.

So I know that in constructing scenes and moments, I want more of a physical understanding of his hobbies and sensations—like rock climbing, playing violin (which I've taken lessons for previously), and similar. So:

1. I want to try out a climbing gym on O'ahu.

I'm big on physical hobbies and staying active. For one, I love a challenge and the pursuit of athletic excellence (although I'm asthmatic, so it's not like I'm ever totally ripped and capable.) For another, it's such a good and healthy way to get out of my own head and externalize myself some. I haven't been climbing in ages, since at least my camp days, but I'd love to get back into it especially so that I can properly describe it within my storytelling. So I asked a friend who climbs if he has any recs! I'm also trying to get around the island more rather than sticking to the North Shore, so we'll see.

2. I'm taking my guitar back on island with me.

In MOUNTAIN SOUNDS, Miller plays the violin. He's incredibly talented at it and passionate about it too. My guitar is not a violin, but I was honest-to-God so bad at violin that I think my upstairs neighbors would kill me if I tried.

I always played instruments growing up. For one, I love having a flow state and creative pursuit (especially musical) so I did play drums, guitar, and piano growing up. I'm better at the piano, but my guitar is absolutely gorgeous and would be helpful in building my vocabulary for Miller's experience absolutely loving his instrument.

Repetition is also important in determining whether something can be considered a business expense for research. If I took one or two lessons, or on a short-term basis while drafting, I'd consider lessons in something important to constructing my awareness of a pursuit for characterization. If I made it a habit or continued lessons, for example, I'd have to slide that into a personal expense because it's no longer solely for the purpose of writing better fiction.

This one honestly might be a stretch. I'll ask my accountant and explain my reasoning. (Another perk of adulthood, entrepreneurship, and authorship—paying a monthly fee for bookkeeping and tax help because it gets so complicated. Previously, I just did it myself!) So there's a gut call there for sure.

3. I should date more, actually.

I wrote a romance into MOUNTAIN SOUNDS because romance sells and it's also fun and everyone wants someone to love, etc,. etc,. I often get the question as to whether my love interests are based on my own romantic reality. The answer is definitely no! But there are feelings, fears, conversations, etc,. that I'm sure would feel familiar to any of my exes picking up my book. (None of them have ever read a draft.) For a while, a big reason I avoided dating for several years is that I didn't think it was fair to be so devoted to my book that I didn't have the emotional capacity to be fully giving to anyone else. I thought I wouldn't be a fair partner or good listener, and therefore wasn't in an available place for a date.

And then I tend to be a person-person, meaning that I'm really only interested in building a connection with someone if I like them "as a person" regardless of whether romance is present. I'm not in it "for the feeling" of crushing on someone or the desire to lose myself (and in fact, I'm totally the opposite.) My most solid relationships have been built on a foundation of first knowing and trusting each other a whole lot before it veers romantic. I'm a slow-burn gal (which is reflected in MOUNTAIN SOUNDS, by the way.)

But if I'm writing a romantic dynamic into my next story, I should put myself out there more for the experiences themselves. There's definitely a lot about the process of loving/openness/awkward first dates that you can only learn by putting yourself in those situations. Descriptions of instincts—the urge to brush a hand along someone's shoulder, conflict and resolving, the heartache of relying on someone, when you get sleepy around a person because it's the only time you've fully relaxed all week, etc,.— that you only remember when in those scenarios. I can't write this off on my taxes (hahaha) but at least, determining what I need to cultivate for my book research is a good push to refresh this portion of my life now that I'm personally finally open to dating again.

4. I would probably try to visit North Carolina again at some point during the summer if allowed to write a sequel.

MOUNTAIN SOUNDS takes place in Western North Carolina, a region I grew up in that I have a lot of affection for. Summer, and camp world specifically, is so magical.

Since I wrote the bulk of MOUNTAIN SOUNDS based on my experience at one all-girls' camp there, I'd love more exposure to different structures and considerations. Other camps, other small towns. Plus, there are certain activities—swingdancing, s'mores, camping, climbing—and sensations like hot sizzled gravel after rain and a pounding storm on a tin roof and the smell of pine that I'd want to remember and bake into the next story.

sketches from the early process

Of course, it's impossible to consider writing about the region without acknowledging and supporting the reconstruction of the extensive damage and trauma caused by the recent Hurricane Helene. (You can donate to residents and funds here through the Always Asheville fund, and I also encourage you to seek out mutual aid avenues to support directly!)

I've taken one book-funded trip to the region in fall 2023 before submitting my first post-agent revision and it was incredible for me to get to the core of what MOUNTAIN SOUNDS was—a love letter to the place itself. It was so helpful in zooming out past the details. So I'd want to keep an active dialogue with North Carolina (of sorts) and pop in while writing the sequel, if allowed (or marketing the first one.) But of course, traveling for book research is the most expensive because everything—the lodging, the rental car, flights, etc,.—went on the business card.

This was my biggest splurge, book-wise, but undoubtedly crucial to my narrative and process.

4. I'll definitely hike and backpack a bunch soon!

I love nature and the outdoors. Realistically, the smartest move career-wise would be to suck it up and live in NYC. (I love New York and its density of opportunity, but definitely am better when I'm in and around the natural world.) O'ahu is a fantastic place to live for me and my values.

Of course, it's not Western North Carolina, but I can parallel a lot of situations and activities. Right now, I'm rereading the book Mind in Motion: How Action Creates Thought and it's emphasizing (a lot) the importance of expertise created only through embodied experience. So, I'll definitely try to do as much as possible to build out MOUNTAIN SOUNDS. I already own my backpack, tent, etc,. but could potentially justify certain expenses related to building that expertise when writing a sequel.

For SUN GUILT, I could potentially justify experiences like surfing lessons or sleep studies (a character is narcoleptic). I'd say that narrative is a bit more collegiate though (more based on house parties and a going out landscape), so it would likely be harder to justify "expertise" that feels more so like indulgence. A key to business expenses within the very-wobbly lifestyle realm is that you have to be able to prove that a charge is mandatory and/or isolated to the work itself and not simply for your enjoyment of your own desires. It gets weird, trust me. I love that I can construct a life based around what I'm curious about and want to learn (and shape the business of writing accordingly to pursue what I want), but there's still a lot of gray area that requires discipline and examination.

Other Recent Expenses!

• I did cave and buy a printer before turning in my last revision, because I do know that I write and read best longhand or in print. Otherwise, I would have paid FedEx or UPS for a bound copy, and I've never had good luck with this. So I'm excited to have that for future book edits.
• Office supplies, always—binder, post-its, highlighters, etc,.
• I buy whatever books I want. Reading is the single biggest ingredient to my writing. I read so, so much from the library but still buy quite a few titles especially when I want to reference them frequently! Often, my book charges will include a ton of psychology and sociology, nature writing, craft, literary fiction, commercial/genre fiction, and the like. It's always relevant.

I'll write more about considerations in the process of writing a novel later, but wanted to share some elements of research that have been on my mind lately. I hope it all makes a book you eventually love to read. Nothing would be a greater honor!

As always, I'm working on a book revision, sharing details about the process via a publishing newsletter, and reading and reviewing a ton on here. I don't do it for you, but love to know what resonates.