I’ve got a brand new book out today in eBook and paperback, NaNo What Now? Finding your editing process, revising your NaNoWriMo book and building a writing career through publishing and beyond, and you may be wondering if this book is for you. To give you a better idea of what to expect from this easy-to-read guidebook to exactly what happens once NaNoWriMo is over, I’ve included the actual Introduction from the book below. If you’d like a longer preview, several retailers will give you a longer free look and I’ve included their links at the end.
But, in short, this guide is designed for anyone who signed up for the NaNoWriMo challenge, if you finished your novel during the 30 month challenge or not. Whether you’re still struggling to get to The End on that first draft or ready to dive into editing, publishing and the writing life beyond, I’ve got you covered. If you’ve never finished a major book edit before or you’re not sure what you’re doing now is working, let me hold your hand and help you discover your editing process!
Introduction from NaNo What Now?
You signed up for the 30-day writing challenge called National Novel Writing Month, most commonly known as NaNoWriMo, and now it’s over. Maybe it ended weeks ago or maybe it ended yesterday, but in all cases, you’re left wondering what the heck happens next? There’s a lot of advice out there on what’s supposed to happen after you write a novel, but due to the unique nature of the NaNoWriMo challenge, we’re not all in the same place when the event ends. Depending on how the last month went for you, you’re probably in one of three different places right now.
- You finished neither your NaNoWriMo project nor reached the 50,000 words.
- You reached the 50,000-word NaNoWriMo target, or whatever number you set for yourself if we’re talking about Camp NaNoWriMo, but you haven’t finished your story yet.
- You finished what you set out to write.
You’ll notice I didn’t distinguish between people who finished their story but didn’t reach their word count goal or people who reached both because it doesn’t really matter. As far as I’m concerned, if you finished what you set out to write when you signed up for the challenge, you’re in good shape for what’s to come.
But what is to come? Well, that’s what I’m here to help you with. See, I’m a published author (traditional and indie) who has not only racked up a decent bibliography over the years but has also participated in dozens of NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo challenges. I’ve been at all three of the states listed above at the end of the challenge, so I’m in a unique position to guide you through what happens next, no matter how your month ended up, because I know exactly what you’re going through. I’m also an official NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison a.k.a. ML, which means I’ve already guided hundreds of writers just like you through their first novels and beyond.
What follows is a quick and non-threatening roadmap to exactly what to do with the stack of words you wrote during NaNoWriMo, no matter the size of it. It’s a guide on how to not only to parlay what you’ve already accomplished into a real writing habit throughout the rest of the year but also to take steps to achieve your writing dreams, whether they include publication or not.
But first, I want to have a private word with each of you about your current status…