I spend part of my day helping people make sense of their books, and another part writing my own. The word books does a lot of work in that sentence.
As an accountant, I might look at what a business brought in, what it spent, and why there’s less cash left than the owner expected. As a storyteller, I might look at a scene and wonder why a character made a decision that doesn’t ring true. In either case, I’ve found it helps to go back a few steps and see what I missed.
What happened before this?
Say I’m writing a scene where a character walks out on a friend. I know why he does it. I may have known since I started the book. But if the reader hasn’t seen enough of what went on between those two people, that decision can feel like it came out of nowhere. Before I rewrite the scene, I need to look at what I’ve given the reader up to that point. The missing piece might belong three chapters back.
I ask a similar question when I look at the business side of writing. Say I sell twenty books at an event and go home pleased with what I took in. Later, I want to know whether I’d pay for a table at that event again. To answer that, I need to remember what the table cost and what I paid for the copies I sold. If all I wrote down was what I took in, I’m going to have some digging to do.
In both cases, the details I need are easier to keep track of when they’re fresh. I can save a note about what a character knows going into a scene, or I can put the table fee and the number of copies sold in the same place while I still remember them. Neither takes much time. Both can save me from having to piece things together later.
Start with one question you’d like to answer
If you make and sell things, think of one question you’ve had to guess at. Was that event worth doing again? What does it cost me to make one of these? Which of the things I brought actually sold?
Pick one question and keep the few details you’d need to answer it next time. If it’s about an event, you could start with what it cost you to be there, what you sold, and what you brought home. Use a notebook or a spreadsheet, whichever you’ll remember to open. You can add to it when you find yourself asking another question.
That’s part of what I’ve been thinking about as I revise Accounting for Creatives. When you’ve spent your time writing a book or making something you’re proud of, it helps to have a way to answer a few basic questions about how it’s doing. And if keeping those records is simple enough to do at the end of a long day, there’s a better chance you’ll have them when you need them.