NaNoWriMo is finished.
For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month; it takes place each November, with thousands of writers attacking their free time in front of their computer, with the goal of completing the first draft of a 50k (or more) word novel in those 30 days.
To those of you who successfully participated in NaNoWriMo this year: Congratulations.
I have never participated in NaNoWriMo myself, but I think it's a great tool. Especially for writers who are just starting out. Or for writers who have been writing for a while...but might need a kick in the pants to actually sit down and create.
I do, however, see one major problem with NaNoWriMo:
After such a whirlwind of writing, an overwhelming sense of accomplishment washes over the writer; they know that they want this fruit of their cerebral loins published; they know they need an agent; and so - of course! - they move onto the next logical step: Searching for an agent!
Oops.
Over the last week or so, I have been hinting that a rockin-awesome blog post will be born here next Tuesday. Right now seems like a good time to let you know what that blog post will be.
A little over a week ago, I emailed over one hundred literary agents, asking them: What is the single biggest mistake writers make when querying you?
So far, I have received more than 50 responses, and while the great unveiling of this blog post (which, I'm proud to say, will be the most comprehensive collection of answers to this question I know of) will not emerge until next Tuesday, I will go ahead and tell you what one of the most prominent answers has been. Pay attention, NaNoWriMo writers; this applies to you:
One of the biggest mistakes writers make is querying when their book is not yet ready.
Let me make this clear: "Not yet ready" does not mean "Not yet finished." Finishing the first draft of a novel is only Step One. The novel that you finished writing yesterday? It is only a baby. Now, it's time to help it grow up.
How long do you edit for?
That depends. But the short answer is: A whole lot longer than you spent writing it. And if you've never done this before: A whole lot longer than you ever imagined.
Writing a manuscript is maybe 25% of the novel-writing process. The other 75% comes after the last word of the first draft settles down on the paper.
I spent over two years editing The Great Lenore before I landed my publishing deal. That's not a yardstick you should use for your own editing; it's just an example. The only measurement you can use for your baby is, quite simply, perfection. And unless you wrote your first draft the way Vonnegut wrote his first drafts - rewriting a single page over and over and over again until he got it just right (which, if you wrote 50k in one month, I doubt your process went like that) - "perfection" can take a while.
Rip that thing apart. Bang your head against the wall. Put that thing back together. Take a break from the manuscript for about a month. Come back to it. Rip it apart again. Bang your head against the wall. And so on.
Over the last month, you have created something that has the potential to be beautiful. Now, it's time to help it grow up.
Good luck!
Happy Editing.
~J
P.S. Remember last month when I held a little contest for a free, advance copy of The Great Lenore? Yup, check back on Friday for Contest #2. (As in this Friday. As in December 3rd. As in the day you just marked on your calendar so you'll remember to come back here and find out how simple the contest is.)
Currently listening to: Unchained Melody, by The Righteous Brothers
Currently hoping you will save your NaNoWriMo friends from sending out a barrage of ill-fated query letters today by sharing this link with them: http://bit.ly/eN347M
Currently enjoying the "currently" theme.
That's enough.
Other Places Where I Hang Out:
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Available From Atticus Books Summer 2011)
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Posts
Nice post.
ReplyDeleteWritten one for myself for this year's NaNo and finished it. I'm shelving it for the moment giving it time to rest and relax while I work on my other WIP (which is in it's 3rd rewrite).
I could never see my first draft as 'presentable' even though in my head, it shines of perfection as bright as the sun.
Ganz - Two things. 1) Every time I get an email that says "Ganz-1 commented on your post," it makes me happy, because I know I'll visit the page and see the picture next to your name. That thing makes me smile every time. 2) It's amazing how something can seem so close to perfect until you take a bit of time away from it. Brilliant move to break from one mauscript for NaNoWriMo, and then to break from the NaNoWriMo ms for the other one.
ReplyDeleteMy current WIP is my first attempt. My biggest mistake, I think, is that I've spent more time rewriting and less time focused on cranking out a complete draft. I have rewritten chapter one about six times now, and when I say rewritten, I mean just about every word has been scrapped. It took some time to learn where the story started, but once it came to me, I was able to build from there. I'd like to think this will mean less work later, but realistically, I doubt that will be the case. Every rewrite produces changes and new directions, which makes more revisions necessary in other parts of the story. Unfortunately, I don't really know what draft I'm on - it varies page by page. It's hard when you've been woring on something so long and still have so long to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to your upcoming post about mistakes. The one thing I strongly believe in this business, is that if you do your homework, you can really increase your chances. I'm trying to learn everything I can so that one day, when my WIP is actually ready, it can happen.
I spent a year writing first draft though not continuously due to (now long gone) day job, then another year editing and rewriting a TON. (proof: http://frobertawalker.blogspot.com/2010/10/finished-type-in.html). I followed a revision course which was the best $ I ever spent. I currenly have two Betas reading it. I have queried seven agents and have had 5 rejections so am stepping back for a time to wait on my betas to see what (else) needs fixing! It is so tempting to jump the gun, but I sure don't want to burn all the (agent) bridges before my ms is truly finished. I just hope that it will be in my lifetime :)
ReplyDeleteRoberta - That is some serious commitment. Keep at it - it will all pay off!
ReplyDelete