So.. now what?

My fantasy novel, which is now renamed “The Harbinger Rises” – Book I of The Red Bargain has now been completed.  Or at least, the first draft has been. 116265 words including the glossary, which is about at the level I expected it / planned it to be.

So; now I need to get a printout so that the friend who’s agreed to do a readthrough can do so, and I need to go through it myself and edit it; I am n ot wholly sure what to look for and what to do but I suppose I can find guides online.  Part of me can’t help thinking to myself.. now what? :-S

I’ve been working through this for so long that I’m not sure what to do with myself now it’s at this stage. I’m a bit scared about the next step too.

I don’t think I can really afford to do self publishing – the idea of the freedom is appealing but with zero cost marketing I doubt I’d get very far.  I’m not sure I have the confidence to plug myself to publishers either.. so I guess that leavs agents – and means I need to get my novel to a decent state and then look for an appropriate agent.  Which makes me go O_O and want to turn and run away.

I really want to be a professional writer, or at least a creator of stuff..  That’s possibly the best I can do though right now.  If anyone has any suggestions then please let me know.

I have decided to just carry on writing for the moment – I’m holding off on my readthrough / edit till after I’ve had friends have a look – so now I’m writing a science fiction short story (at least, I plan on it being a short story, it might become a novella I’m not sure) and seeing where things go with that.

I’m just apprehensive about it all… :/

2 thoughts on “So.. now what?

  1. First of all, congrats! It’s a huge accomplishment.

    If you’re anything like the rest of us, the first draft of your first novel is awful–even if you can’t tell that at this point. I wrote the first draft of my first novel in about three months. Then I spent about 21 months editing and revising that novel until I felt it was publishable and good. I would suggest spending a lot of time getting feedback, whether it’s from friends, a writer’s group, a workshop, or a freelance editor. Work, work, work on it. Also critique other the novels of other new writers so you can learn more about what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve heard good things about critiquecircle.com, and Critters.org is another one that focuses on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Just be ready to throw out any advice you strongly disagree with!

    The above is all just my opinion, of course. Congrats!

  2. Thanks very much for the comment.

    I have been informed in no uncertain terms that every first draft is terrible; currently I’ve sent it to some people I consider beta readers and am writing something in a very different style while I wait for a response from them.
    Then I’ll go for my first edit and see if I can make it better, and on and on.
    Thanks for the website links too; Critique circle looks particularly interesting. :)

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