andphi's Journal: Novelpost: First Draft Complete!

It's done. I finished it around 12:30 this morning, I think. It's 269 handwritten pages long and between 117 and 120k long by wordcount.

Now I have to type it all out. Fun!

I am now officially a novelist.

Congratulations!

[rk]

My wife has three written, and a fourth about half-done. I have two chapters of about half a dozen different novels, so I know what hard work it is.

Neither one of us is published, but I did get a very nice personal ding letter from Gordon Van Gelder once about nine years ago.

Re:

[andphi]

Thank you. I know the feeling. Has she ever tried to publish?

Re:

[rk]

Short stories, yes. Her novels? Not yet. She's having a crisis of faith regarding her writing at the moment.

Re:

[andphi]

That sounds familiar. I often worry if my stuff will have been worth the writing.

Re:

[rk]

I'll tell you what I tell her: If you got something out of it in the writing, it's already worth it. You're already in a fairly exclusive group. For every 100 people that say they're going to write a book, only 1 does.

Re:

[andphi]

Forgive my ignorance, but who's Gordon Van Gelder? An influential editor?

Re:

[rk]

Among other things, he's the editor of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] has more.

Re:

[andphi]

Ah. That is cool. I've heard that personal notes, even very short ones, are a good sign. Congratulations!

Good Job

[stoolpigeon]

Should you get into an electronic format and want some feedback - I'd be happy to give it. I can't imagine writing that much by hand.

I've really enjoyed your updates as you've worked through this, and hope you keep us informed as you move forward from this point. But right now I hope you are relishing this accomplishment.

Re:

[andphi]

I am planning on passing it around once I get it typed up. I've embarked upon that journey now.