We'll get this out of the way What is NaNo? Go Here
Finally November is over and you have hit that mark so what do we do now. Do we put this book on the shelf and forget it or do we do something with it. Well, this is a personal decision but normally I will take a month off, read my new masterpiece (LOL) and go back learning the book and getting the characters fresh in my head. Then I start writing and do my best to finish it.
My problem with Novels, is editing and endings, everything else comes easy. I don't have any trouble coming up with a new novel or even the first 30K, but wrapping things up, that is another story. When wrapping up be sure & keep a calendar so your days and weather etc is correct. You will want to check each character to see that his or her part of the story has closure.
If you did win Nano, then you might want to think about checking out those free coupons that Createspace is offering to all of this years Nano winners. They are giving away two free proofs of that wonderful novel you just finished. This is a great step in getting into self publishing. This is how it all started for me back in 2010.
If this is your first proof there is a lot to learn, but Createspace makes it easy for the beginner to be able to upload a cover for your first novel. The first time I did this I made my own front image from an old image I took with a 35 MM Camera. I don't suggest you do that, but it will work. This image to the right was my first cover. I took an image of Dallas, TX that I took and just placed it on the cover. I've came a long way since those days, but it did the job it got me hooked and on the road to being an Indie Author.
If you want to be a Published Author, join some writing groups and you'll want to read over your novel about five to ten times to get everything right. If this is not your first novel it might not need this much attention
You'll want some Beta readers. These readers will look over your book and tell you general things, like they hated the ending, or they don't like that you have your female MC crying all the time. Maybe your lead Male is not believable. Beta readers can be very helpful.
After the beat readers you'll want to get a professional editor if you can, and if not then find someone in your family that is great with punctuation. Maybe you know a teacher that would check the book for you for mistakes. Also in this day and age you can often barter for trade to get your book edited. Maybe you're good at marketing or cover design never hesitate to approach someone with an offer for exchange of services. This is just some general suggestions to get you moving in the right direction.
If you are a first time author, please let another author look at your work. Don't take the advise of your mother- best friend, you want a professional to help you. There are many things that could be wrong that a reader would never notice.
There is POV (point of view), show don't tell, chapter length, paragraph length. You'll want to really work on that first chapter to make sure it really draws in the attention of your readers. There are the arguments of 'prologue or not to prologue.' There are a lot of things that another author will notice that no one else will.
You'll want a pro to look over your cover too, nothing is as bad as an Indie doing their own cover for the first time. You don't want your novel to scream I made this cover myself. There are many affordable premade covers out there. I make covers myself and I have great prices for those Christian's that join our Christian Indie Author groups on Facebook. Here is a progression of my novels over the years. Learn from my mistakes and if you are not an artist don't spend years becoming one like I have just buy a great cover.
MY COVER PROGRESSION
This is my first two covers.
Here was my next version of my Street Justice Series
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Then here is where I'm at now, you can see these are much better and who knows I may re do them at some point but I don't think so.
YOUR CHOICE
Whatever you chose, do so wisely. I will say that there is nothing like holding your own book in your hand and looking down and saying I did this. I love just going by my own book shelf at home and breezing by my novels. There is normally a small window to get your novels finished so also check out those expatriation dates on those coupons.
If your book is not all the way done go ahead and use those coupons and get that cover ready so you can see how the book is coming along. It will spur you on to finish your own books. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions join one of our many groups that will be listed below.
Samantha Fury is the author of the Street Justice Series
She's written many articles on book covers, for Indie Authors.
She operates several Indie Groups. Editing Services, Cover Artist,
Helpful Indie Facebook Groups, and a wonderful Forum
If you didn't win Nano don't forget this post HERE
