NaNoWriMo is Done:
A 50,000 Word Count or Rebel Goal Reached
You spent all morning excited and celebrating your win. Or perhaps you’ve slept all morning because you were up until midnight, somewhere in the world, eking out the last few sentences before submitting. I don’t know for sure, but I do know some next steps.
Take a day to reflect on your progress, assess your storyline, and make necessary adjustments. If you are just too weary to do this right now, take a few days. Heck, take a month. Take time to rest and refresh. Visit the fam. Eat out. Start back upcycling/skiing/Duolingo. Reach out to social media friends. This particular milestone will ensure your novel’s quality when you get to it. It is important though, so make sure to check the chapter lengths, check the character arcs, and check the story makes sense. Then prepare to run it through the editor software of choice. I use ProWritingAid. It’s da bomb, baby! Here is my blog to read more of the ins and outs. Essential Software For Authors Part 3
You made it through.
While you spend time refreshing your mind and soul, visit NaNoWriMo’s next steps forum. Actively participating in write-ins, online forums, or local writing groups is a social milestone. It connects you with the writing community and provides support. The next steps can be months of editing and rewriting, but you don’t have to cringe about it. Talk it out with writing buddies. Check the resources the NaNo website offers. See what others are doing. You might find out they are offering deals on support packages made specifically for writers. I know winning is one thing, but finding out you got half-off coupons for ProWritinAid…epic.
Now is the time to set new writing goals. Decide what you want to do with your manuscript. Are you planning to revise it for potential publication, or was NaNoWriMo simply an exercise in creativity? Is it something you want to publish? Avoid imposter syndrome here, just ask yourself is it something I’d like to read? If yes, then move on. Now set new writing goals. How many days a week do you want to edit? How many days a week do you want to revise and fill out the story? What is your completion deadline for both?
Publishing. Research how you want to publish. Once you’ve done your self-editing get a beta reader or twenty. Let someone else check out your work. If you get the feedback and have spent time checking it out…you may be ready for publishing. If you believe your manuscript is ready for publication, research literary agents, publishers, or self-publishing platforms. Follow the submission guidelines carefully and be prepared for rejection along the way.
Don't stop writing.
Go build an author platform and share all your knowledge. Whether it’s a single-page go-daddy website or something more fantastic, you’ve decided to write a book and people will want to know more about you and the book. Create an author website, engage on social media, and connect with potential readers. It’s all good stuff, even the bad critiques, which tell you how something didn’t quite work for someone. It’s a given.
You are a writer of a novel. Take steps to explore publication or not, you’ve written a body of work that for you, checked that box. Own it. It’s a wonderful experience and wasn’t missed in the large scheme of things because you wanted to do it and you did. Congratulations.
I also want to give a quick shout-out to PLOTTR software which is very intuitive. My new favorite writing aid. This plotting software is da bomb. Use any of my affiliate links below and I might get a small commission. Thanks.
Check out my Youtube channel for PLOTTR videos @jlnichauthorsff
Joseph Michael’s Learn Scrivener Fast e-course
Please read and review my serial publishing novel, Sparrow’s Legacy, on Kindle Vella. You can read the first three chapters free on Amazon by searching for “Sparrows Legacy Kindle Vella” or clicking here. I. Please subscribe to my website if you want to be notified when I’ll be publishing or to get free samples of my work.
JLNich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
