NaNoWriMo Update: The Winner’s Circle

Final word count: 104,599

I just put the final words down on the very first draft of my very first novel. I’ll admit – I turned a little Joan Wilder. I laughed, I cried, and I felt really, really good. That’s how it feels. Really, really good.

Writing a novel, for me, has been one of those enigmatic lifelong dreams. It always seemed like something I could pursue at some future unknown date: when my daughter starts school, when we win the lottery and I don’t have to work anymore, when someone approaches me with a book deal based solely on the dazzling wit I display in my everyday freelance work. The fact of the matter is, this book writing stuff has been on my mind for over twenty years (and I’m not too much older than that). If it was going to happen, it needed to happen. So I made it happen.

But I didn’t do it alone. I know this seems like the sort of acceptance speech that one reserves for Academy Awards or books that are actually on their way to a publisher right this minute, but I’m still feeling a little heady from reaching the finish line at all, so I’m going to bask in it.

Thank you to Lorna, for taking a major step up in our everyday business so that I could spend four hours a day just working on this.

Thank you to my husband, who vows he will storm the bookstores with self-published copies should my words fail to impress those who make the decisions and control the money.

Thank you to my friends and family, most of whom have offered to read my book, despite the fact that it is a romance novel, a genre they almost universally mock and despise.

Thank you to everyone who offered support, wisdom, or advice.

So What’s Next?

Well, a few things. Although I wrote this novel for me, I do want to give it some stronger legs to stand on and set it free to see how it does in the world. The goal is to spend the next week resting my weary brain and then most of December polishing it and transforming it from a first draft into a cohesive – and hopefully salable – unit.

I also intend to dive deep into learning the avenues of getting published. I am fortunate that Lorna has some background knowledge, which gives me a great starting point. However, I would also be delighted to receive any constructive advice (note the adjective) from those who have been here before.

I also hope to continue offering periodic updates about this project. I have a suspicion that there are many, many aspiring novelists out there in the freelancing world, so I hope that anyone reading this blog can see that it is possible to make a ridiculously outlandish goal and to actually get there.

Continued luck to all the other NaNoWriMo aspirants out there. You can do it! I know you can!