You Finished NaNoWriMo (or Another Writing Challenge), Now What? 7 Things to Do Next

NaNoWriMo is one of the most well-known writing challenges, and a very simple one: write 50,000 words of a novel within the month of November. If you took the challenge and passed, congratulations! If you took it and didn’t, congratulations still! It’s not easy to write, and any step towards your novel’s completion should still be celebrated. And if you did another challenge in November or another month, that’s awesome too!

No matter what, a writing challenge is rarely the end of your novel’s journey. In fact, in most cases, it’s just the beginning. If you participated in NaNoWriMo or another writing challenge and you’re wondering what to do next, here are 7 steps that you might take, in roughly the order that makes the most sense. Not all of them may apply to you, but chances are at least a few will.

(A quick note: This blog is not affiliated with NaNoWriMo, nor with any other organizations promoting writing challenges. We also do not condone the alleged actions of some of NaNoWriMo’s board members. We’re simply lovers of words and of writing, and understand that a challenge like this one can be very motivating for a writer, whether or not they participate in an official capacity. If you’re looking for writing challenges that aren’t NaNo affiliated, check out this great post by Greta Ham.)

If you want personalized advice on what to do next, the best way to do that is with a manuscript critique or evaluation. Click here for more information about our services and click here to book a free consultation.

1.    Keep writing!

Even if you hit the 50k word count, chances are your novel isn’t done yet, so keep going! You don’t need to keep hitting the same daily word count goals you did during the challenge, but now you’ve got a great momentum going, so take advantage of it, even if you have to slow down and take a step back. Don’t worry about getting everything perfect in the first draft; that’s what revision is for.

2.    Read in your genre

Hitting 50k words in one month is no joke, and if you focused on that in November, chances are you didn’t have much time to read, so now is a great time to get back into that. Always read widely, but when you’re working on a novel, try to find recently published books in your genre. Why?

·       Comps for your Novel

Agents and publishers want to know where your novel will fit on the physical and virtual shelves, and they want to know that you’re already aware of what’s being published in the current market. When you pitch your book to them, you should have a couple of titles in mind of novels that are comparable to yours in terms of the audience that will read them. They don’t need to have similar plots or other elements, but look for books that “feel” like yours. Once you’ve read a few, you’ll get an idea of where your book would fit. Focus on books that were published in the last couple of years, were published by a publishing house and not self-published, and which sold well but weren’t runaway bestsellers. If it sounds like it’s hard to find good comps, it is! But that’s why you need to read widely, and you’ll only need about two for your pitches.

·       Improve your skills in your genre

You never want to imitate another writer’s style, but the more you write novels in your genre, the more you’ll pick up on elements like structure, dialog, pacing, and more. For this, you can read books that were published independently, books with lower sales numbers, and ones that were published more than a few years ago.

3.    Revise, revise, revise

No novel is ever done after the first draft. Once yours is done, put it aside for a little while. Maybe a few weeks, or even more. Putting distance between yourself and your latest draft gives you a better chance of catching what needs to be changed when you head into revisions. Spend that time working on something new, reading fiction and books about craft (bonus if it has information about revision!), and then get to work.

The act of revision looks different for every writer. Some need to rewrite from scratch. Some need to print their manuscript out, rather than editing on the computer. You may need to read your manuscript through entirely, making notes as you go, before you figure out what it needs in order to be successful.

It may take more than one revision or draft before your novel is ready for an audience, but at the same time, be aware that no draft is ever going to be perfect, even the ones that get accepted by agents and publishing houses. A good sign that you’re ready for the next step is when you find yourself spinning your wheels with revisions; things like mostly changing small words, moving phrases around and then back again, or having difficulty figuring out what should be changed next. Do your best to make your draft as great as you can, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good!

4.    Get page critiques and beta reads

Once your eyes have been on your manuscript for long enough, it’s time to start getting some outside opinions. A good place to start is a manuscript critique. If you already have a community of writers you’re a part of, you likely already know that you can ask if anyone is willing to read over your pages and give your thoughts. If they have works of their own that need review, it’s a kindness to offer the same for them as well. At this stage, you’re looking for general impressions, anything big that stands out to a casual reader, and mistakes that you might not have caught as the author.

If you don’t have a writing community you can call upon, it doesn’t hurt to ask on social media for volunteers! But keep in mind that readers can have busy schedules, and the quality of reads you’ll get from people you don’t know can vary. If you’re willing to splurge, it can be a good idea to pay for a critique or beta read, to have a better guarantee that the feedback will be useful. It’s usually cheaper than a full developmental edit, and can be a great investment in your revision process.

Remember that here at Tapestry Writing Support, we offer expert manuscript critiques, starting with the first 10 pages for only $40.

5.    Hire an editor

Before sending your novel out into the world, you may want additional peace of mind that it’s as ready and polished as possible. A full developmental edit can help with that. You’ll get detailed information about what is and isn’t working with your novel, things that agents or acquiring editors would expect to see, giving you lots of fodder for at least one more productive revision.

After all that, it’s also a good idea to proofread your manuscript for errors and clarity. One final type of edit that many writers have done is a proofreading or copyediting pass. Although you can definitely proofread yourself, a pair of eyes that aren’t your own can spot small mistakes that might be holding your manuscript back, especially since you’ve been looking at it for so long. To help you get an idea of your editing needs for your next draft, Tapestry Writing Support offers free consultations and first pages analysis.

6.    Figure out next steps

Once you have a polished manuscript that’s been made as ready as possible, it’s time to decide how you’d like to get it out to the world! There’s no one right answer to this, but the two main paths are traditional publishing through a publishing house, or self-publishing. There are pros and cons to both, though keep in mind that neither will be an easy path no matter how you slice it.

Traditional Publishing

With this route, you’re aiming to have your book selected for publication by a publishing house. Going this route means you cede much control over to a publisher, along with much of the book’s profit, but it also can mean a much shorter to do list for you as the writer.

Usually, this path will involve getting a literary agent, though some houses accept submissions directly. Even in that scenario, an agent can still be a valuable negotiator on your behalf. Whether you search for an agent or go directly to a publisher, you’ll want to write a query letter, a short letter pitching your book for submission. Be prepared for a lot of rejections, but tenacity, and a willingness to further revise both your pitch and your novel, or even to start something new, are all key.

Self-Publishing

If you self-published, you’ll be the sole person in charge of all elements of your novel and its release. Self-publishing is easier than ever thanks to modern technology and the availability of new tools, resources, and easier access to freelancers such as editors and book cover artists. It can get expensive, but it’s also much cheaper than it used to be.It can be harder to get noticed as a self-published writer, but there are no guarantees with either route. The best thing you can do is to make your novel as polished and professional-looking as possible, and market it as much as you can.

Keep in mind, a career as a writer is hard under the best of circumstances. If you can make a living doing it, that’s awesome, but chances are you’ll still need other sources of income. Still, if you enjoy writing, you’ll find it’s difficult to stop!

7.    Start your next project!

If NaNo is your first time writing a novel, hopefully it won’t be your last! First novels are usually not the ones that authors end up publishing first. If you find yourself stuck, or with downtime while you wait for edits or replies from agents, don’t be afraid to bust out a new project.

NaNoWriMo and other writing challenges are a great way to get your words on the page. But as you can see, there’s still plenty to do once the timer stops. You might not need to do everything on this list, and you might not need to do them in the order listed here. But no matter what you do next, I encourage you not to stop writing. Take advantage of the momentum and keep your project moving forward.

And if you want personalized guidance on what to do next, Tapestry Writing Support is here to help. Sign up for a free consult or get your first 10 pages critiqued and analyzed. Your writing goals are important, and we want to help you get there!