Have you finished your novel? What is next?

Writing a novel is mainly a solitary project that you work on for months. And, when you type ”The End” it is a huge achievement, but what do you do next?

For me, I sat alone at my PC. After editing 85k words there was nobody around to celebrate with me. To be honest, that isn’t the end.

Entered Wattys

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I did something crazy today! I posted the last chapter of Jewel of the Sea to Wattpad and then entered #thewattys2019 #wattpad #wattpadstories #wattpadcovers #wattpaders #wattpadbook #wattys2019 #wattys #wattpadbooks #wattpadcommunity
A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on Jun 21, 2019 at 2:46pm PDT

If you have been following my blog, you are probably aware that my novel is posted on Wattpad so when I finished editing, it was very easy to submit my novel into their annual competition.

Beta Readers

While it is sitting on Wattpad being judged by the judges, I decided to send my novel to a select group of beta readers to get feedback. 07I will take their feedback into consideration and make any necessary amendments and then I will decide whether to query agents, self publish or enter other competitions.

Research

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How is your book published? For years, I’ve had my heart set on being traditionally published. I like the validation that someone else sees merit in my novel. I fear that I do not know the industry well enough and like the idea that my agent or publisher will push me in the right direction. However, the problem with the traditional method is my success relies on convincing someone else to believe in me. My novel has to stand out in a competitive slush pile. It needs to reach them when it is exactly what they are looking for. My voice needs to be fresh, original yet fit in with others on the market. Even then, it still might not be enough. Whereas self published authors are their only hurdle – only they need to believe in themselves to be published. However, all the work is on them to edit, market, sell, etc. But, if they have a ‘can do’ attitude there is no holding them back. I’m starting to wonder if I am my biggest hurdle. That I don’t need to win a literary agent or publisher over, I could self publish today. So, why don’t I? What am I afraid of? Is anyone else not published yet that feels like this? #traditionallypublished #traditionalpublishing #indieauthorsofinstagram #selfpublished #indiebooks
A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on May 29, 2019 at 1:50pm PDT

Meanwhile, I will be researching literary agents to see who is a good fit for my novel. I am attending an event about the publishing industry (how to get published, attract an agent, attract an editor with Phoebe Morgan) and an agent one-to-one with Florence Rees.

I am also part of World Indie Warriors which is a collaborative group that are supporting authors in the self publishing industry or those aspiring to self publish. Meeting them has been a very enlightening experience and as a result I feel more motivated and informed about self publishing. It no longer feels like a scary unknown.

I am also attending a marketing course with Pagan Malcolm on book prompting which will be beneficial whichever route I take.

Next Project

Although I’ve taken a creative break, I have already started plotting the next novel. I am going to rework and finish Diamond of the Sky. This will be my project for Camp NaNo (July 2019).

Read

This summer, I will be catching up on my reading. Reading is a great way to continue to develop my writing skills as I soak up the methods others have used. It is also a great way to support other writers.

What do you do when you have finished writing a novel?

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