I agree that all the ‘filling’ in NaNo is sort of dumb. As much as I like the idea of NaNo as a booster to make people write and not sit on their thumbs thinking they’ll write a novel someday, the whole word-padding isn’t my cup of tea. Either you have an idea for a story, or you don’t write; typing words just for the sake of typing words is a waste of time in my book.

I’ve taken part in twice now, and for two reasons: I want to have fun with other people in the madness, and I want it to be an opportunity at a first draft that I can at least edit later on–it’s better than no draft at all. Of course, I realized that it was preposterous from me to do NaNo this year, with my job, studies *and* exams in December instead of January, but I still ended up with a few chapters (and the beginning of a story I want to go on writing during the holidays now), instead of… nothing at all. It can’t be that bad, and I had fun writing anyway.

Fred: I agree with you about the feeling of writing something that is going nowhere.

As for the publishing route, I have a traditional publisher in mind, although it’s in the UK. I don’t know if any US publishers will take my ghost story, since vampires and serial killers are still the big sellers on the market. Perhaps my next book should cater to that.

Good luck with your book’s publication. It’s always good to have another book in the works while you’re shopping the current one around.

As far as how to publish goes, I would probably try the traditional route first and then self publish as a last resort. That’s just me. Nothing wrong with self-publishing but after all the work that you’ve done, you should at least try to sell it to a publisher. If it doesn’t pan out, then you always can do it yourself.

When I’m done editing my book and I’m shopping it around, I will busy myself by writing the sequel to keep myself occupied.

Release the inner writer!

Karen: Sometimes shortening the goal makes it easier to manage. The best part about NaNo is the community support. Regarding the quality of the manuscripts I write, I share your opinion. I don’t mind if the rough draft is crappy as long as I can edit it into something saleable.

Lee: Yes, it’s a great exercise to help flex your mental muscles. Like you, I’m trying to finish a WIP and couldn’t set it aside this year. Good luck with your books!