My First Novel

I finished. Convincingly. And not half-assed like I thought it would be.

Gallus Magnificent has been a work in progress for many years. But now draft one is completed in full and the journey of editing has already begun. There is still a long way to go.

Writing a novel has been one of the most difficult things I have done. Mostly because I sabotaged myself the whole way. That voice that said constantly, this is a gamble with time and effort that will never pay off spoke EVERY SINGLE DAY. As an unpublished author, the work you do feels indulgent. It can feel like you are being selfish. Yes, the goal is to eventually sell your manuscript and get paid but there is such a small chance that will actually happen. My Google friend tells me 99% of submitted manuscripts are not published.

My optimistic side says, but you might be the 1%. It also says, that stat must be wrong. It can’t be right! Surely no one would be writing if it was that low? But if it is true, wow.

Despite the overwhelming doubt, the first step is done. I have an achievement to be proud of, even if it is just for me. There were some days I could only manage to write 50 words. Some days I did not want to write at all. Some days I wanted to delete everything because I believed it was trash. But at least now, it is finished.

My advice to you, if you have an idea tucked away in a drawer somewhere: just finish it. That in itself has pushed me to get this book out into the world. To work harder and do whatever it takes. Look at me here blogging away. I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever be doing this.

So just finish it.

Maybe it isn’t trash after all…