Top Four Things To Do After NaNoWriMo

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year,?

I did NaNo for the first time in 2017. I wrote over 50,000 words and finished my first manuscript a few weeks later. It was invigorating. Exciting. I was so proud of myself.

But let me tell you, that beautiful book baby was not ready to be published.

Whatever you do, DO NOT PUBLISH OR QUERY YOUR NANO MANUSCRIPT RIGHT NOW!

The story you’ve just poured your heart into is precious and valuable, but it is not ready to go out into the world.

So what should you do with your brand new manuscript?

Here are my top four tips.

1. Take a break.

You’ve just spent way too much time with your story.

You need a break. Trust me.

When you pour all of your attention into one thing, you make great progress, but you also lose perspective.

Stepping away from your manuscript is the best thing you can do right now.

Give yourself a month away from each other.

When you come back, you’ll have renewed energy and fresh eyes for seeing how to make your story even better.

2. Adjust your mindset for revision.

Drafting and revising are two different skills.

The creative process is free-flowing, energizing, and exciting; the story takes you places you’d never imagined you would go.

Revision takes time, focus, and intentionality. Revision is where your book goes from loose idea to cohesive story reality.

Impactful fiction doesn’t happen by accident, and revision is one of the most powerful tools you have to make your novel intentional and impactful.

Plan to spend at least as long revising as you did writing.

Your story will be better for it, I promise.

3. Plan to get help.

If you want to write the best book possible, you need feedback from someone who isn’t you.

Not now—no one needs to read your freshly written manuscript—but after you’ve had a chance to revise.

You need another person to help you see holes, tighten your narrative, and understand what’s not coming through clearly.

You can get this kind of feedback from a critique partner or beta readers, but you’ll get the most value from inviting a professional into your story.

As a book coach, I assess your book’s character, plot, and theme while keeping in mind why you’re writing and what this book means to you. I have skills a critique partner won’t, that allow me to see what’s missing or misaligned.

You deserve support on your writing journey, and I think a book coach is the best investment you can make in yourself as a writer.

That's why I created the Rooted Writers Mentorship where you get direct access to me as well as a community of like-minded writers who are all there for the same reason: to write a book they are proud of.

4. Try not think about your book for the rest of the year.

I invite you to chill out and relax. Pick a date in 2024 when you’ll come back to your book. There is no rush and you deserve the gift of writing slow.