NaNo What Now? Finding your editing process, revising your NaNoWriMo book and building a writing career through publishing and beyond

by Hillary DePiano

You’ve just completed a novel during the National Novel Writing Month challenge! Or maybe you completed part of one. Or signed up with really good intentions and then only wrote a couple of words. Either way, you’re staring at 30 days worth of words and wondering… What now? How exactly do you start a revision and discover your editing process? How do you know if you’re ready to hire an editor? How do you motivate yourself when faced with draft dread or editing blocks? How can you translate what you’ve accomplished so far into a professional writing career?

From tips for finding beta readers, exploration of traditional vs. self-publishing, and strategies to motivate yourself to keep writing regularly post-NaNoWriMo, NaNo What Now? is a quick and easy-to-read unofficial guide to the next steps. In a sea of general writing advice, NaNo ML and multi-year veteran Hillary DePiano offers practical and specific solutions tailored to the unique nature of the NaNoWriMo challenge and holds your hand through the rest of the journey. It’s time to finish what you started and make your book the best it can be.

Genres: Writing

90 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2016

About the author

Hillary DePiano is a playwright and author of fiction and non-fiction, best known for her adaptations of Carlo Gozzi's The Love of Three Oranges and The Green Bird, which have been performed in theaters around the world. A folk and fairy-tale nerd, Hillary has mucked with myths from the nursery to the North Pole in over two dozen plays and other fiction works. As her alter ego, The Whine Seller, Hillary is also the author of multiple non-fiction titles including bestsellers about selling on e-commerce platforms like eBay, writing, and publishing. Since 2010, Hillary also has volunteered with NaNoWriMo and its sister event, Script Frenzy, as a Municipal Liaison helping writers of all ages get excited about literacy and the written word. She currently resides in New Jersey which inconsiderately contains four oranges.

For more information about her books, plays, and blogs or to connect via social media, find Hillary DePiano at HillaryDePiano.com.

Reviews

[victoria Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Quick Read

I really enjoyed this book. Hillary writes this book in a way that makes me feel like she's my writing coach! She adds a lot of helpful tips to make your nanowrimo first draft a beautifully completed manuscript that you'll be happy to show others. I can't wait to get started on the easy tips and tricks she shared.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year, 2016, marks ten consecutive years that I've participated in National Novel Writing Month. In those ten years I have participated in seventeen Nanowrimo events. Out of those seventeen events I've finished a rough draft three times and have done nothing with them.

Before reading this book I was on the fence about taking the time to edit my rough draft from this past November. After reading this book I have committed to editing and finishing my draft.

I've wanted to finish my drafts and edit and I've dreamed of having a novel ready for publication, practically my whole life. I've lacked the confidence to do so and the knowledge of where to begin. Over the past year my confidence in my writing has been getting stronger. The idea that I could actually complete a finished draft has slowly been seeping into my brain and this book helped push me over the edge to realize it is something I could actually do. Or at least work hard and try.

I did a read through of the book to get an idea of what was in it. Now I plan to go back through it slowly and implement the advice into my own editing process. I love this book because it is geared specifically to those who have written a novel during the Nanowrimo event by someone who has participated as well. Not only has Hillary DePiano participated in the event but she has also completed and published her work.

I gave this book five stars because I found it to be very inspiring, fun to read, and motivational. I'm excited to get to work and use what I learned to set up an editing schedule. I'm also motivated to finish what I start and I look forward to writing and editing more drafts. But first I will start with the completed draft I wrote in November.

I recommend this book to anyone who has participated in National Novel Writing Month, whether you have finished a draft or not. Learn how Hillary DePiano has edited her books to completion and use that information to form your own editing process.