: Re: So I finished my novel. Now what do I do? A few days ago I finished the first draft of my current novel project after a few months of work, finishing at 83,212 words. Now what should I

@Murray165

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This is one of those questions where everyone is going to have a different opinion, so ultimately the final answer is up to you. We can help you consider options, but you have to make the final choices. The options presented so far by Kate and John are very good and get right to the main points: 1) set it aside, and 2) work on something else.

As for setting it aside before editing, the amount of time is up to you. I agree that you should give it at least two weeks, but longer may be even better. If you have a spouse or family member who might be willing to help with this, then you might have them take a pass at it first. I would ONLY recommend this if you believe that person will truly look at it with a critical eye and not just tell you what they think you want to hear.

As for working on something else, Kate and John kind of differ there, but we all agree that you should move on to something else. Whether it is writing query letters or working on a new project is really up to you. Understand that if you are planning to go the traditional route for publishing, the query letter and synopsis are things you are going to have to do anyway, so you can work on them now. My caution there would be that you might find yourself tempted to check your manuscript for main points you would like to include in the query or synopsis, and that might lead you to start editing before truly giving it some time to sit.

Once you do start editing, take at least a couple of passes. Read through once looking for typos or content problems, then read through again looking for plot issues. The order is again up to you, but don't try to do both at the same time. You'll find yourself getting frustrated and too easily distracted from one task or the other. Once you have finished editing, then you can send it to your beta readers.

I don't know how many beta readers you have, but if it's not at least three or four, you may want to consider using a site like Critique Circle to get more feedback on your story. I have found that some of my beta readers tend to be less critical, but I can count on the folks at Critique Circle to be more honest about potential issues. While your book is out with the beta readers would be a good time to work on the query letters and synopsis.

After you get your responses back from everyone, go through them and decide on any additional editing or rewrites you need to do. While you're at it, you can continue sending out query letters, and look at them to see if they need revising as well. If you have to do any level of rewriting, it may impact the content of your query letter and/or synopsis, so be sure to check both of them as well.

From there, you are no longer working on writing. Now your focus is on getting published, and that is a whole different ball game. You have plenty of options to consider here as well, but for now, you need to concentrate on getting your story completely finished!

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