I've always been a happy drafter, and even enjoy the polishing/ editing. What surprised me was the let down after publication. Sure, there's the flurry of excitement the day of, but the day after? Lots of meh. After a dozen books, I've actually started to anticipate it now, planning on how to deal with the post pub blues- tidy desk, organize and put away book files and research, making room physically and mentally for the next book.
Hi Caroline. Great article, as usual! Just for once, though, my experience doesn't fully chime with yours.
I finished my first novel in 2008 (amazingly, it's the one coming out this October) and I can still remember the absolute joy and bliss on the day I finished it. It was possibly one of the best moments of my life, up there with my wedding day and the birth of my son. Subsequent novel-finishing moments have been pretty good too, though not as ecstatic as that first time.
I was just so happy, and it carried me through years of rejections from agents and publishers. On the day I finished it I remember thinking that, for the rest of my life, my overriding aim would be to be in a position to finish more novels! Also, the editing process means you are never really finished until (I presume) publication day.
So this is the other side of finishing a draft and certainly no more or less valid than your 'meh' version but I just thought I'd add it in!
I love hearing about your joyful finish! It‘s wonderful to hear your version of this story. It is an incredible accomplishment and I‘m so thrilled you’re able to enjoy it in the moment. And yes, absolutely, being in a place to finish more and more books is the ultimate goal. Enjoy the process and congratulations on your book coming out in October. Such a
I completely agree with you. I get such a high from actually writing that finishing things is always a downer. Especially with something as big as a book. I have written two books (one isn't published, thank goodness!) and with both - but particularly with the first one, which is the published one, I felt so lost, so low. All my friends had suddenly gone. It was over. Now what would I do with all my time? So yes. Savour the moment. Actually, I'm going to sound like a really old fogey here, but try to savour ALL the moments of life. The whoosh is real.xx
Agreed- the more we savor the better! And there is such a wobble when I finish, especially with fiction. But… then we get to nap and read and write more, so I‘m up for enjoying those moments too. 🩷
Perhaps this is why I have 8 manuscripts in various states of completion from the last 22 years? While I love the writing process, I would equally love to know how it feels to bring at least one to the finish line! (Hopefully that will happen by the end of this year🤞)
You can do it, Darcey! I‘m not suggesting that the solution is not finishing, of course, and I suspect you‘ll be quite pleased to get there as 22 years builds up some serious suspense. Don’t wait for perfection, just get one of the 8 to a point that feels solid and then move it forward in whatever form that takes for you, be it submitting to agents or to an editor for input before publishing on your own.
I’m a very process-oriented person; I find the ending of most things anticlimactic. In writing my first novel, I look forward to the day that the draft is longer than my masters thesis and therefore officially the longest thing I have ever written, but I’m in no rush and hopefully there will be many more scenes to write after that milestone. And congrats on finishing another book!
Thank you Grace. 🩷 Overtaking the length of your masters thesis is an excellent goal- keep us posted when you hit it. In the meantime, enjoy the writing!
This is such a great article! I recently finished the first draft of my new manuscript and felt, the whole time when I was writing, that writing 'the end' would be the best feeling. Yes, I was proud of myself. But then I realised the next step was draft two, and then more revisions, then even more revisions, etc. I felt so many mixed emotions, and then realised, like you, that the actual writing part is what I enjoyed the most. The sitting down at my computer every day and writing the story I was so excited for. This article really put into words how I felt 🤎
I‘m so glad you felt less alone reading this! You‘ll hit your stride with the next draft, and there is still a lot of creativity in revision, but taking a moment to recalibrate myself before moving ahead has always helped me a lot.
I've always been a happy drafter, and even enjoy the polishing/ editing. What surprised me was the let down after publication. Sure, there's the flurry of excitement the day of, but the day after? Lots of meh. After a dozen books, I've actually started to anticipate it now, planning on how to deal with the post pub blues- tidy desk, organize and put away book files and research, making room physically and mentally for the next book.
Exactly! It‘s the worst that we are all expecting a dance party when we finish, only to be hit with post-book sad times. We need to spread the word!
Love hearing about your post-book plan to counteract the effect. 🩷
Hi Caroline. Great article, as usual! Just for once, though, my experience doesn't fully chime with yours.
I finished my first novel in 2008 (amazingly, it's the one coming out this October) and I can still remember the absolute joy and bliss on the day I finished it. It was possibly one of the best moments of my life, up there with my wedding day and the birth of my son. Subsequent novel-finishing moments have been pretty good too, though not as ecstatic as that first time.
I was just so happy, and it carried me through years of rejections from agents and publishers. On the day I finished it I remember thinking that, for the rest of my life, my overriding aim would be to be in a position to finish more novels! Also, the editing process means you are never really finished until (I presume) publication day.
So this is the other side of finishing a draft and certainly no more or less valid than your 'meh' version but I just thought I'd add it in!
Keep writing, everybody!
I love hearing about your joyful finish! It‘s wonderful to hear your version of this story. It is an incredible accomplishment and I‘m so thrilled you’re able to enjoy it in the moment. And yes, absolutely, being in a place to finish more and more books is the ultimate goal. Enjoy the process and congratulations on your book coming out in October. Such a
huge moment!!
I completely agree with you. I get such a high from actually writing that finishing things is always a downer. Especially with something as big as a book. I have written two books (one isn't published, thank goodness!) and with both - but particularly with the first one, which is the published one, I felt so lost, so low. All my friends had suddenly gone. It was over. Now what would I do with all my time? So yes. Savour the moment. Actually, I'm going to sound like a really old fogey here, but try to savour ALL the moments of life. The whoosh is real.xx
Agreed- the more we savor the better! And there is such a wobble when I finish, especially with fiction. But… then we get to nap and read and write more, so I‘m up for enjoying those moments too. 🩷
Perhaps this is why I have 8 manuscripts in various states of completion from the last 22 years? While I love the writing process, I would equally love to know how it feels to bring at least one to the finish line! (Hopefully that will happen by the end of this year🤞)
You can do it, Darcey! I‘m not suggesting that the solution is not finishing, of course, and I suspect you‘ll be quite pleased to get there as 22 years builds up some serious suspense. Don’t wait for perfection, just get one of the 8 to a point that feels solid and then move it forward in whatever form that takes for you, be it submitting to agents or to an editor for input before publishing on your own.
I see this for you in 2024!
I’m a very process-oriented person; I find the ending of most things anticlimactic. In writing my first novel, I look forward to the day that the draft is longer than my masters thesis and therefore officially the longest thing I have ever written, but I’m in no rush and hopefully there will be many more scenes to write after that milestone. And congrats on finishing another book!
Thank you Grace. 🩷 Overtaking the length of your masters thesis is an excellent goal- keep us posted when you hit it. In the meantime, enjoy the writing!
This is such a great article! I recently finished the first draft of my new manuscript and felt, the whole time when I was writing, that writing 'the end' would be the best feeling. Yes, I was proud of myself. But then I realised the next step was draft two, and then more revisions, then even more revisions, etc. I felt so many mixed emotions, and then realised, like you, that the actual writing part is what I enjoyed the most. The sitting down at my computer every day and writing the story I was so excited for. This article really put into words how I felt 🤎
I‘m so glad you felt less alone reading this! You‘ll hit your stride with the next draft, and there is still a lot of creativity in revision, but taking a moment to recalibrate myself before moving ahead has always helped me a lot.