On Tuesday, I finished the first re-write of my novel. I wrote the novel 7 years ago, but with limited writing (and life) experience, I didn't know how to make it better. It was only 34,802 words, so I knew that I needed to add at least another 25,000-30,000 words. I ended up adding 27,302 words, and I'm pretty sure that by the time I'm done the 2nd rewrite (which I started today, no sense wasting time!) that I'll make it to 65,000-70,000 words. It's a young adult novel, so I think that's a good length.
It took me exactly 2 months to do the rewrite. The book was my baby 7 years ago when I wrote it - I was so proud of it, I loved the characters, thought the story was pretty good, but now that I've fleshed it out, I love it even more. It's not often that I have the confidence to say I love something I wrote myself, but I love this book.
When I realized I was finished, I felt a mixture of excitement and something akin to terror. Excitement because I'm one big step closer to being really finished. Terror because now I have to decide what to do with it. Do I query agents when it's finished, or do I self-publish? I have a few great people who have agreed to read it and help with editing, and I'm really leaning toward self-publishing, not because I think I couldn't have it traditionally published if I tried, and not because I think it's the easy route (if you know anything about self-publishing, you'll know it's anything but easy - you're the one doing all the work and putting out the money for any costs associated with publishing and marketing). I just want to have my book read, and I know that it could take years if I went the traditional route - querying, finding an agent, finding a publisher, waiting for the book to actually be published. I've said this a few times before, but I figure that these days, no matter which way you go, it's a gamble - you can be traditionally published and not have your books sell, or you can be self-published and have them not sell. It's a risk either way, but at least one provides a quick route for you to find out whether you're going to fail or succeed lol.
So I guess I need to continue doing research on self-publishing, and keep networking with other book bloggers so that by the time it's done, I'll have people who will actually want to buy and read my book, review it, help me spread the word, do blog tours and interviews, etc. There are SO many book bloggers out there, I'm still astounded by the number of them. I just hope that I'll be able to find the support that so many other authors have found.
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Congratulations on finishing your rewrite! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I also finished my rewrite recently (in April), so I'm going to start editing in June.
ReplyDeleteI'm aiming to go the traditional route though.
:-)
Well done! Take a deep breath (and possibly a swig of something alcoholic, if you like), and leave it for a while. The reread it with fresh eyes.
ReplyDeleteIf you dancy going the trad route, how about sending it to a literary consultancy for a crit? :-)
Congrats on finishing that rewrite! That is such an awesome feeling. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alison, give it a bit of a rest. I did that with mine, came back, and found so many ways to improve it. I ended up doing that a few times, and in total I spent about 7 to 8 months on rewrites. Yeah, it took a while, but it was SO worth it. My book is a million times better!
Keep at the writing, and good luck deciding which route to go!