I've Finished Writing My Book!

I have done it! I have written a book- something I always dreamed about doing and, to be honest, if I never even do anything with my book following this, it still feels good to be able to say that I have always wanted to write a book and that I have done it. It is mine, the characters are my creation, the plots (hopefully somewhat original) are my ideas, and even if only a handful of people ever read it, I don’t really care, because I am just proud that I imagined something and spent the time and care to put it all on the page. It is amazing how quickly one can finish a novel under lockdown- albeit a relatively short YA one that I have been writing.

Now, the editing and proofreading stage is going to be a tricky one. I have tried, and have fixed a few bits, but it was difficult to be critical with myself having so recently written it all down. I figured I might need a bit of a break from it and then go back to see what I can improve and develop. It is hard to do that because I am fizzing with so much excitement and energy at just finishing my book-I feel like I want to do more with it, and I am missing the actual processing of writing itself. I don’t want to move onto anything new just yet (although I do have a few ideas) because it would feel like I am just abandoning my first creation and moving on, when it has so newly been completed, but I am just not sure what I want my next steps to be.

Even though it is massively unedited, I have decided to brave the stage of having others read it. First, testing the waters with family members, and then sending it out to a few close friends. I am wondering how much further I will feel confident branching out. My best friend was the first one to read it in full and she sent me the gift, pictured below. I have put it in my writing space. The support my family and friends are giving me is so lovely, especially when we aren’t even able to see each other.  I do realise family and friends are going to try and be nice about the book, and are more likely to praise then criticise, but I want them to feel they are able to give me some constructive criticism. I want to know what chapters they enjoyed, but also, I genuinely want to know what just doesn’t work. The way my book is structured is really flexible and I can delete and move around elements of the plots without much issue, so actually, any doubts they have when reading will be so helpful to me in this dreaded editing stage.

 If anyone has any suggestions on what they do when they have finished a book, I would love to know 😊