So I finished the draft...what next?

[Alchemist]

After almost ten years of writing in bits and spurts, I've finally finished the draft of my first novel, book one of a trilogy. It came in at 183,000 words, although will probably expand (and contract) a bit during the second draft and end up being around 200,000...or so I'm guessing.

Anyhow, I'm trying to envision the next stage. Right now I'm engaged in the second draft, which for me is reading over it from the beginning, making edits large or small, and filling in areas that I skipped over. Parts of the text are relatively polished, while other parts need a lot of work. I imagine that it will take two or three months to hammer out the second draft (maybe more), and then I plan on handing out copies to friends and family, with a questionnaire asking for feedback. After that I'll probably incorporate feedback in a third draft and then think seriously about publication.

Which is where I hit a bit of a snag. The traditional route, as I understand it, is to try to find an agent first, which is really half or more of the battle. If you have a good agent that believes in you, chances are you'll (or they'll) find a publisher. But I'm tentatively thinking of self-publishing, perhaps in addition to the traditional route. I really like the idea of having control over my work, and I'm also inspired by the many "ebook success stories" (e.g. Michael Sullivan).

Any advice? How does one go about finding an agent? And at what point in my process should I start? Should I start now, while working on the second draft or should I wait until the second or even third "semi-final" draft?

And if I want to go the route of self-publishing, what are the steps there? How do I develop a web presence and market myself?

Finally, what about the two-pronged approach? Is there a recommended order of operations? Should I go one way first and then the other or can I put my work up on Amazon and also try to find an agent at the same time?

Anyhow, exciting times. I'm getting myself geared up for lots of rejection and heartache! But I hope to persevere and see my book(s) in print, whether sooner or later.

[tmso]

Note: this is my opinion. Take from it what you will.

Set it aside. Or work on it as you are but try not to think too far ahead of yourself. I am maybe a year ahead of you on this journey of publication (self or traditional) and, frankly, thinking about publication at this stage in your journey might be a bit early.

With that said, DO try your hand at writing a query letter. As well as a 2 page synopsis, and maybe the back blurb. Summarizing your story in a few sentences or paragraphs will help you focus your story and will help in the editing stage.

Once you have a solid second or third draft, then maybe show it to a few readers that you know can offer feedback that will help. Giving it to too many folks too early may just confuse ya with contridictory info.

As for marketing and building a platform, you may want to begin small and start a blog. I like WordPress.

Good luck!

[RedMage]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I don't think I would be able to stick with a book that long. 5 years, yes. But not 10. Good job!

Like TMSO said, I think you may be getting a little ahead of yourself. Take a breather first. Publishing is a good thing to think about at the stage and to begin looking at but, before that, you want to have a full, finished manuscript. So for now, focus on cleaning up the rough bits in your story. Add what you want to add, remove all that needs to be removed. Polish it again and make sure the story still works without those old parts and still flows with the new parts. Then have someone else take a look at it.

For readers a friend is preferable to family because family will worry about hurting your feelings and won't be as honest. Friends will too, though not as much. So they are better at that. And make it a friend who reads your story's genre. They will know what they are getting into and will make good comments and not just "I don't really read sff so..."

Keep asking yourself those publishing questions while you are doing all of this. Do some research. Decide how best your book should be delivered to the world. But focus first on making it a good, polished story with as few cracks as possible.

[kmtolan]

Yes, you can go "traditional". More money and prestige than all other options, usually. Takes an agent. Takes the most time (sometimes years to see something in print). Is probably the most difficult odds to beat, given today's market. If you're not in a hurry, might be your best first bet.

Self publishing is usually the least money (in fact, it can end up costing you more than you get back) and least (for new writers) prestige, but it's quick. Weeks instead of years. If you take this route, best line up a professional editor and graphics artist, and bone up on your promotion skills (not that traditional approach is much better in that department).

And now the middle road. There are hundreds of independent presses out there looking for good writers as well. Most are e-pub with POD. Usually more money and prestige than self publishing, though usually not as much of either (no advance vs 2-5k or more advance) as traditional. You will be assured royalties, at least. Just make sure you pick a well established press and not some author mill. Promotion is still going to rely heavily on you, but a halfway decent press will help you out a little by attending conventions themselves.

Now, notice I said "usually" through all this. A combination of networking, promotion, skill, hitting the right market at the right time, and dumb luck can turn any one of these paths into a blinding success or dismal failure.

Kerry (info distilled from latest conventions and personal experience)

[Laer Carroll]

Lots of good advice. Note especially that the posters are giving you options. Every writer's needs, talent, skills, and situation are different, so you need to craft a path to publication which suits yours.

If Stephanie Meyer had waited till book four to contact an agent, she might not have been so successful. Ditto Jo Rowling. But both of those writers had at least a general overall story arc for all their books. And the drive to finish them. It made sense for them to try for an agent for their first book.

On the other hand, someone who is more feeling their way to what they want/need to write might better wait until they have finished several books, in at least first draft form. Oftentimes we don't fully understand our stories or their shared universe, and where we need to take them, until we've finished them.

Finishing a novel is an impressive milestone. I knew when I'd done it that I could become a pro writer. But my first book, though brilliant in spots and competent in most areas, was not overall good enough to publish. Even if someone had, it would not have been a good representative of what I could do. So it went forever on the shelf. Though I did steal parts of it for several other books.

[Alchemist]

Thanks for the replies - much to chew on.

From this, I am reaffirmed in my belief that my number one focus should be crafting this craft into the best possible novel it can be; thinking about publication is secondary and should be more of a background process.

That said, Laer, from the way you put it, I should start thinking about contacting an agent sooner than later because I do have the entire trilogy at least sketched out - I know where I want to go, if not all of the details on how I'm going to get there. This trilogy comes out of decades of world building and imagining; it isn't at all the same as it was years ago, but there has been a common thread that has developed since, well, I was a kid.

To put it another way, this story has been growing within me for decades now. I started and stopped it a few times before beginning what is the current work nine years ago, which was the start of the "mature form" of the overall work. I remain dedicated to crafting this book into publishable form; I don't see it as merely a first novel that gets me going and that I can mine ideas from. If I end up not finding an agent or publisher, I want to finish the trilogy and then self-publish, if only on Amazon.

So my plan is to continue crafting this novel via a second draft after which I'll share with friends and family. But I do want to start thinking about finding an agent. Does anyone have any tips on how to do this? tmso, you give good advice on working a query letter, blurb, etc. That will be part of the next stage as well; I also like how you describe using that as a way to better see the story and a tool for editing.

Again, thanks all - very good advice all around.

[tmso]

Finding an agent is no easy task, as I am sure you are aware of.

Here's one.

And here's a site I used/use: Query Tracker.

[Alchemist]

Yup, those my quip about preparing for rejection and heartache! I can take it because I expect it. I've always found it strangely inspirational that Stephen Donaldson was rejected something like 50 times.
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And thanks for the links - very helpful. Now the question is, do I not submit a query letter until I'm ready to send the entire manuscript at the drop of the hat? The reason I ask is that the first part - the prologue and Part One, which consists of four chapters - is basically polished up. But I assume that I shouldn't be sending query letters unless I feel good about sending the entire manuscript. Yes? Or is it OK to say "I'm working on revisions, which will take a month or two, but the first part is ready."

My hunch is that is unprofessional and an agent will say, at best, "Contact me when you're done with your book."

[tmso]

My hunch is that is unprofessional...

Correct. Don't do it. Remember, these folks get hundreds of queries. The more professional your submittal, the more chances they won't reject it without even reading your samples.

I would advise you to write the query letter and pitch it to other writers or sites that critique query letters: (on this forum here) or places like Query Shark.

[The Mayan]

Great work, Alchemist! I myself am unpublished, so, take what I say with a grain of salt.

I just want to suggest that before you work too hard at polishing up your first draft, I think you should work some on your next book in the trilogy. I tend to outline as well, but even then, I find that things change as I write.

For example, I wrote a book that was about 90,000 words which was intended to be the first in a series. While I have edited it quite a bit, I'm nowhere near calling it finished. while editing this first book, I eventually realized that I was getting a little tired of that story, so I might as well move on to the next installment, which I estimate to be about 150,000 words. I'm about 63,000 words into that, and I've found along the way that there are major changes to be made to both it, and the previous installment.

If I'd gone ahead and published the first book, I'd be stuck with it, and would have to work with what has been set, rather than changing it to my heart's content.

So, I suggest you work a little on your next novel. You don't have to finish it even, you could just write a fourth or a third. Even that should give you an idea of what needs to change.

[secluded]

If I'd gone ahead and published the first book, I'd be stuck with it, and would have to work with what has been set, rather than changing it to my heart's content.

So, I suggest you work a little on your next novel. You don't have to finish it even, you could just write a fourth or a third. Even that should give you an idea of what needs to change.

Great advice. I had been thinking about that quite a bit. Outlining or a rough draft of next installments would be a good idea. You're right about not knowing the story until its finished. I have found myself going back to alter previous chapters after a good idea pops in my head. Would be a shame to work on the second book and not be able to go back and tweak the first to fit the story.

[Holbrook]

Yes? Or is it OK to say "I'm working on revisions, which will take a month or two, but the first part is ready."

No. An agent will just put your letter/email in the bin. He has a few dozen other submissions on his desk that are finished and polished to within an inch of their lives. Remember you have only one shot with an agent with the current manuscript. You need to send the best pitch, synopsis and manuscript you can.

My hunch is that is unprofessional and an agent will say, at best, "Contact me when you're done with your book."

You will most likely get a no thanks standard rejection if that.