Wait! Before You Publish that NaNo Novel There Are Some Things You Need To Know

National Novel Writing Month takes place annually every November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. When you finish you are a winner!

Yay! So, are you going to win this year by finishing your novel?

Congrats to you if you do!

I’m not doing NaNo myself because of time issues (that is code word for kids) but I am always working on my projects, so no worries there.

With the self publishing and ebook boom, this year’s NaNoWriMo is going to produce thousands more people finishing as winners than ever before. This is wonderful! But, what worries me is that most of these people will run off and publish their books without as much as a beta reader going over it.

People, please, you have to listen to me. NaNoWriMo is an exercise, a challenge. The idea is to let go of the editor in yourself and just write, to let the creativity flow. This does not mean that you should run out as soon as it’s done and upload it to Amazon or Smashwords.

Your NaNo Novel is a first draft and must go through the process of drafting, editing and beta readers, more editing, and then proceed with the steps into publishing. Believe me, if you send that baby out into the world before it’s ready, the readers and reviewers will eat you alive.

We need to remember, as writers and authors, that we are the ones giving self publishing and ebooks their name. WE are doing this… That’s right, WE the indie authors are the ones dominating the ebook industry!

If we send our books out there without being perfect, we set a standard of crap for all indie books out there. We all want to be a famous novelist, right? We all want to be that house hold name like Stephen King and Anne Rice, Right? Well, if we want to play with the big boys then we need to act like the big boys.

I understand that editing can cost money and maybe we all can’t afford that. Well folks, this part is actually pretty simple, save your money! It will be worth it in the end. There are also editors out there who will take payments if you look around.

I can’t stress to you enough how important it is for us to get a good editor. And choosing an editor who works well with you may take a few tries too. Most editors will do a sample page or two and then give you quote based on that. Getting samples is great because you can see their work and decide if you might work well together.

I have a good relationship with my editors because I’m easy to work with. They suggest changes and I pretty much just do what they say unless I really disagree and want to argue my point. I use Accentuate Author Services. The Birth of Jaiden was not edited by them but is currently being re-edited by them. I like their services because they have more than one editor on the project which means more eyes on the manuscript, which is very important.

Now…what have we learned today?

Write, draft, edit and then edit some more.

I know it can be hard to wait because you are so excited about finishing the book. I’ve been there, so believe me, I know this feeling. Try to be patient and it will result in a better piece of work in the long run.

Trust me.

Ok, I’m off now to shampoo my carpets (again) so good luck NaNo writers! May the muse be with you!!

Here is a little incentive for all you NaNo Writers!! I love this video