After writing and revising, rewriting and editing, submitting and resubmitting, you might feel exhausted. And you have every right to want to take a break, sit back, and just wait. Maybe someone will publish your work, maybe they won't, but you're tired and you don't want to think about it any more.
But you still want to be published. You want to see your name in print. So, is there anything left that you can actually do? Your plot is completed, your characters are done for the moment, and your story is in the mail. Surely there's nothing left to do.
But there is. Keep writing. Move on. Come up with that next great story and get it down on paper. You've already done it once, so do it again. If you want to make a living as a writer, you have to keep writing, even when you think you're done. If you really can't find it in you to write another novel just yet, think about launching a career as a freelance writer. Being a professional writer can mean more than just writing novels.
Whatever you do, keep writing. Keep that pen sharp and ready to create the next great work.
If you've written your first novel and submitted it to a couple of publishers, you're might find yourself at a loss. What do you do now? You could do any number of things, really. You might choose to take a break and wait for the results of your queries. Maybe you'll sit in a chair and fret about the queries you sent out. but neither of these is very productive.
Instead, keep your work out there. Look up every publisher that specializes in the genre of your novel and submit more queries. If you're looking for an agent, fire off queries to as many as you can find. Keep at it until you've submitted to every publisher and agent with a publicly available address. If you don't keep your work out there, you'll never be a published author.
For those who've chosen to self-publish, you'll have to promote your work to get any sales at all. With the Internet, this has become easier, but it still requires effort. Promote your book on social networking sites, link exchanges, and anywhere else you can think of. You might also want to consider approaching your local bookstores about stocking the book. This is harder than it sounds, as many bookstores are reluctant to carry a self-published work. However, with a little persistence, you might be able to change their minds.
If you really believe in your book, keep it out there. If it's truly worth publishing, someone will publish it. And if it's well written and entertaining, people will buy it. But it's up to you to make sure your novel stays out there, getting attention and hopefully being noticed by the right people.
Okay, so you wrote your first novel, actually finished it, and declared it abandoned. Now what? Well, if your intention is to be a published author, the next step is probably the most frightening of all. You have to put your work out there. This can mean many things, and all of them can terrify a novice. It terrified me after finishing Arianna's Tale.
Now that you have what can be considered a finished product, you should start sending this work to either agents or publishers. This means locating publishers and agents who take on your type of novel. This is easy to do with a quick web search. For example, if you're a fantasy writer (as I am), try 'fantasy book publisher.' You'll find some publishers listed. Those that accept manuscripts will have a submission guidelines page. Look carefully, as sometimes these guidelines are buried on the site.
Once you find the guidelines, follow them and fire off your manuscript. If you fail to follow the guidelines of a particular publisher, your manuscript will not even be looked at. Send it out and see what hapens. If your book is publishable or close to it, publishing houses will tell you that.
Of course, you could also choose to self-publish. This means you are responsible for everything. Editing. Layout and format. And fronting the money to publish the book in the first place. This is quite a risk for many people, and sometimes self-published books are frowned upon. This is not to say you should not self-publish. I have seen some truly wonderful self-published work. However, it will be your responsibility to ensure that the book is truly ready for the public.
Whichever method you choose, just get your book out there. You can't call yourself a published author until your book is in print and available for the public to purchase, so don't delay. The publishing process can often take longer than the writing process.
So, now you’ve completed your book, you’re done your revisions, and you’re still staring at your computer screen (or notepad, or whatever). You suddenly have the almost-uncontrollable urge to rewrite. To tinker endlessly, seeking perfection. Should you follow this instinct? Should you look over that book for the hundredth time, making change upon change?
I’ll tell you a little secret: there is no such thing as the perfect novel. It simply doesn’t exist. When writing your first book, one of the hardest things to do is to learn to let go. Eventually, you’ll have to find the courage to stop tinkering, to say to yourself, “That’s it, I’m done.”
So, the third rule of writing a novel is simply to know when to stop. If your book is publishable, or as close to publishable as you believe you can make it, it’s time to stop. Your plot is complete, your characters are rich and lifelike. It’s time to push your baby out of the nest.
