Writing Wednesdays: So you finished your book... now what?

Haul out the confetti cannons and crack out the kazoos, because you, my friend, have finished writing your book! Congratulations are in order!

But… what now?

Well, you have a couple of options.

Have you started uploading your book online yet?

Wondering why publishing online is so cool? Find out in this post.

If yes, then I hope it’s going very well! If not, then you can try posting it. You have a whole book to post – though I’d suggest you don’t post the whole thing at once; a chapter every couple of days would be plenty! You might build an audience that will help encourage you to work on your next book.

If you’ve already published online, you might like this post on how to promote your novel.

Are you considering publishing your book?

If you’re thinking of self-publishing, then make sure you’ve read up on it and know exactly what you’re getting yourself into before you do go ahead and self-publish. For instance, Kindle self-publishing is free, but do some research on how to price your book for the market, think about how you would promote it, etc. Also consider if you’d want to hire someone to edit it for you before you self-publish, or someone to make you a cover, and so on. Obviously, you don’t have to, but some people choose to.

If you’re thinking of publishing traditionally, then great! You have your book ready to go! Research literary agents and send in a submission to them, and cross your fingers that your story is what they’re looking for right now.

HOWEVER: before you do try and publish your book, whether self or traditionally, I’d really recommend you try editing it yourself. Step away from your book from a little while so when you do go back to it, you’ll have a clear mind and be reading it with fresh eyes. Look for continuity or plot issues, typos, any things you want to emphasise or downplay about your characters, and so on. 

You might like this post on editing your novel, or this guest Writing Wednesdays post by Olivia Levez about editing.

But it’ll definitely be worth going through to edit your book, because if you do want to publish it, you’ll be putting it out there at a better standard. And even if you don’t want to – you’ll just feel happier about your story.

And, now you’ve finished your book… start another!