It’s a week into National Novel Writing Month, right about the time when a lot of participating writers hit a wall and start to see their word count slip behind pace. Suddenly, 50,000 words seems like a monumental undertaking, and certainly one that can wait until next year.

Though it might seem daunting at times, it’s ok. If you aren’t just a little scared when you’re writing, chances are you’re not doing it right. It’s that kind of concern that drives us writers to put so much of ourselves into what ends up on the page. If you don’t care about your text, it will show in the end. Embrace the emotions and let them run high.

However, you should never let the fear grow so great that it gets the best of you and stops your progress. And there are plenty of reasons why that shouldn’t happen with your NaNo novel. First of all, if you look over on your bookshelf and see Twilight (or Wuthering Heights, depending upon your taste), realize that you’re not expected to recreate that in a month. The word count alone is well over double what you’re being asked to produce. Depending upon how it is packaged, a book of around 50,000 words would end up about as thick as my index finger, not even the chunkiest of my thin, little bird fingers. It’s an attainable length.

But even more toxic of a misconception than the required end word count is the common belief that you are expected to churn out a market-ready novel in thirty days. Unless your name is Stephen King, that notion is absurd (and even with him, I kid). At this point, I must refer to one of the most useful books on writing in existence, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Within the first part of the book is a chapter that really sums up the NaNoWriMo experience: Shitty First Drafts. Lamott states that “All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.” Sure, you’ll be working hard to get your 50,000 words out, but after that, you’ll be able to revise.

And this is where you breathe easily.

Just focus on getting the words out onto the page for now.

At the end of the month, you can go back and fix things. And you should. As an agent, I can always tell when something comes across my desk whether someone has spent a month on it or whether they’ve spent longer. And I highly recommend putting in the time. If you think about it, you’re putting forth way too much effort this month to ultimately try to rush your novel out into the publishing world when it’s just not ready.

There are several things you can do to get the most out of what you will create this month. I always recommend, when you’ve spent a good deal of time working intensely on one piece, to put it away for a month. Let it sit long enough for you to stop thinking about it. And then take it out and look at it again. Chances are, you will change so much once you look upon it with fresh eyes.

Even more important is the need to share your work. Share it with friends and family, yes. But you should be sure to share it with people who have no personal bias toward or against you. Honest feedback is key in moving your novel to the next level. And let’s face it, if your mother is anything like mine, you could fingerpaint something, call it a novel, and she would give you a glowing review.

You have to show it to someone who will give you honest, informed feedback. One way is to form a critique group. When the right writers get together to critique each others’ works in progress, the results can be phenomenal. When forming such a group, it is ideal to have talented writers who are familiar with your genre and gel with your personality.

If you want to go straight to the horse’s mouth, you can seek out coaching or a manuscript critique from a publishing professional. To really get your money’s worth there, make sure that you work with a qualified individual, such as an agent, a bestselling author or an acquisitions editor. You can generally find them at writers’ conferences. I have worked at a dozen of them this year, from DC to SF, and they are wonderful resources.

If you don’t want to pay several hundred dollars to attend a conference that will usually charge you an additional fee to meet with an agent or have your manuscript critiqued, you can find plenty of qualified professionals right here at EME. One thing I like about this group is that everyone utilizes their own specialty, rather than stretching into genres and formats that they aren’t really familiar with. If you write poetry, you will get a poetry editor. If you write memoir, you will get a memoir editor. And yes, if you’re writing a novel, you will get the assistance of someone who knows what it takes for a novel to succeed in today’s changing market. Our coaches and editors have worked in all facets of acquisitions and editing in Big Six publishers, top agencies and literary magazines. When the time comes, we can help you make sure your novel stands out from the 120,000+ NaNo novels currently being written.

Until then, keep your fingers flying and your word count growing. NaNoWriMo makes me giddy as an agent and editor because so many good stories are being created. I hope to soon have the pleasure of reading yours.  

GORDON—Read more about this editor

I find it fitting that my first blog for EME is about how important it is for an author to blog. As an agent, I greatly prefer an author who has an established online presence. Blogging helps accomplish that, but it also has several secondary benefits.

It helps you build and maintain an audience. Thanks to the internet, an “ivory tower” writer can now reach millions instantly through blogs and the like. Blogs fall into the recent explosion of social media in that they like to have communities. Live Journal was designed around the idea of grouping readers and writers with similar interests to create grand conversations. But no matter which site you choose to host your blog, there are groups you can join that list your blog with those with similar subjects. This kind of networking greatly increases your chances of people stumbling upon your blog. If they enjoy it enough, they’ll subscribe and maybe even tell a friend. And just like that, you have new fans?loyal readers who may be interested in buying your book.

It helps establish you as an expert in your field. If your book is about your experiences as a skydiver, then susieskydives.blogspot.com would be a wonderful opportunity to provide helpful tips, reviews of places you have jumped and maybe even bust a few myths about how dangerous it is thought to be. With the right kind of networking, aspiring skydivers searching the web could find you, see what you have to offer and come back regularly for the valuable information you post. They may even want to buy your book (see a pattern forming here?).

If you are not an expert, blogging can be a way to reach out to those who are. Be a good blogger. Read other blogs. Comment on other blogs. Ask to guest blog or invite others to blog for you. You’ll learn a lot, make some good friends and establish a reputation for being a good literary citizen.

It helps establish you as a real human being. Author blogs tend to be rather informal and conversational in their execution. As a result, a lot of the author’s personality comes through. I tell my authors to aim for this, spicing up their usually informative blogs with an appropriate amount of everyday events that relate to what they are writing about. If your book is about class struggle, your trip to the grocery store or your extreme dislike of cockroaches could very well be presented in a pertinent fashion. Your readers will appreciate the window into your life and develop feelings of kinship and loyalty, perfect for when your book comes out.

It gets you in the habit of writing. Perhaps blogging is not the highest form of literary creation, but it is creation, nonetheless. And to have an effective blog and a prolific writing career, you have to get in the habit of writing regularly. This simple act of taking time out to sit in the chair and get words out onto the page is so important when you go to write “for real.” Writing is like a muscle. You have to exercise it regularly or it will emaciate to the point of uselessness.

It can even kick start a writing session. When the muse is singing, you don’t want to waste that creative burst on a blog post. But sometimes, the vocal cords could use a bit of warming up. Often enough, the hardest part of writing is beginning. The simple, often conversational nature of blog writing is a lot easier to get out onto the page. Once the page is no longer immaculate, it becomes a lot easier to mark up. And once an imagination is in motion, it tends to stay in motion.

Agents ask for it, but it’s best when they don’t have to. The unsolicited keeping of a good blog shows a prospective agent (and later, publisher) that you are serious, proactive and effective in building your platform and marketing your work. I mentioned that I greatly prefer an author with an established blog. But if you don’t have a blog and your project is just too attractive to pass up, I may still sign you and then have you start a blog. Blogs are just about necessary these days. They may take time and effort, but I wouldn’t waste yours if it wasn’t worth it.

It’s fun. No, really. It harkens back to the days of keeping a childhood diary. You can, within reason, write fairly informally about whatever you want and have a great time doing so. Isn’t that why we write in the first place? To have fun? You get to blog. How awesome is that?

GORDON—Read more about this editor