Progress on Goals

I have one or two chapters left in my novel. Finally this project is nearing a close. I've passed 81,000 words today, which feels like an accomplishment in itself, despite the need to restructure the beginning. I do have ideas on how to do that, so no complaints. It's interesting that I'll finally complete this novel after almost a year and a half working on it. That isn't long in terms of a usual novel, but it feels like a long time.

I'm sure it would have been finished sooner if I hadn't kept putting it to the side for all the pieces that were difficult to write, or for the times when I didn't feel up to writing this particular project at the time. Writing is often a personal venture, and almost always solitary.

I'm often ambivalent about this novel project. I plan to publish it, especially after the amount of work that went into it, but the big question is always how. It isn't ready for that stage yet, but it's in the back of my mind often. I know I have some major edits, but after that - traditional publisher or self-publisher? Agent or not? E-book or paper? Who's my target audience? (Okay, I actually have a pretty good idea on that one.) How much time and effort will I spend promoting and marketing this novel? How large is the market I'm focusing on? So many questions, so much time left to put into the manuscript before it's ready to go...

To the other goal, I did send out a submission this month - other than the botched story from the last post. So, there is progress and it's in the direction I want to go.