Just the Beginning

jtb

There’s an adage that I see going around the internet amongst writers blogs that suggests, if you were to write one page a day for a year you would have 365 pages, or an entire book written in that time. This is meant to help new writers who are struggling to just get something written, but I have to wonder… when you’re being told from the get-go how easy it is to write a book at what point are you told the reality, that writing the book is only half the battle?

Part of the problem many agents, publishers, and writers have with NaNoWriMo and similar book in a month programs is that they seem to hinge upon the idea that you can write an entire, publishable novel in just 30 days.* Agents are flooded in December with half baked NaNo novels from writers who don’t know any better because they weren’t given the full story and the cold dose of reality. So consider this it.

That novel you took 365 days to write? Isn’t a full story. The book you wrote in a month? Still not a whole story. It’s the start of a story. Maybe it’s even the heart of the story, but it is not a publishable, readable story. Yet. But how would a writer know this when no one is telling them? How do you learn about things when almost every blog suggests anyone can write a book. Everyone should write a book. All you have to do is write.

That’s nice and all, and really pep-talks are great, positivity is great, I can’t stress that enough. You need people who are going to be in your corner, cheering you on, people who believe in you. You need a support system. But you also need to understand that writing isn’t as simple as, you wrote 365 pages in a year now your done. That’s an accomplishment, true and you should enjoy that fact you should feel proud of the fact that you created something. Maybe give yourself a break from it… take a little mini vacation (whatever that entails for you). Treat yourself a little bit. But remember, this is only the beginning. You’ve started the journey, but if you really want it to be publishable, even self publishable… you’re going to have to start the real work, and that’s editing.

For everyone who completed their goal during NaNoWriMo I salute you. It’s no small feat to write 50,000 words in 30 days. But, you’re just beginning to scratch the surface and for as exhausting as editing can be, it can also be just as rewarding.

*I’d like to point out that nowhere in NaNoWriMo does it say this specifically, in fact NaNo is the first to admit you should definitely edit your work after writing it.