national novel writing month nanowrimo winner

Their aim, and it’s a worthy one, is to encourage. It appears to me their goal is not to see you finish a pristine manuscript ready for the marketplace. So, far be it from me to criticize a well-intentioned program like NaNoWriMo. That’s the sole purpose of this blog and The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild. Need help writing your novel? Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide.Īs a writing coach, my goal is to help get your work to where it’s marketable to traditional publishers. While not every year would have represented more than 400,000 writers, surely the total is in the millions. In fact, if every success story had happened last year alone-in other words, had all 250 published novels come from only the 431,626 NaNoWriMo manuscripts completed last year-your chances of ultimate success would be 1 in more than 1,725.īut those 250 traditionally published novels have come from all the NaNoWriMo manuscripts written since 1999. What are the odds your NaNoWriMo 2020 manuscript will be traditionally published? Without knowing the total number of novels written since the effort began (this is its 17th year), it’s impossible to say.īut one thing I can say for certain: The odds are way worse than 1 in 1,000. That’s why I teach writing and publishing-so you can improve your odds.

While the figure may be unscientific, it’s not hyperbole. Until you do the math.Ī rule of thumb in book publishing is that an unsolicited manuscript has about a 1 in 1,000 chance of landing a traditional book deal. That means the authors were paid to be published rather than paying to be printed. NaNoWriMo reports that over the years, 250 of its participants have seen their manuscripts sell to traditional publishing houses. If it’s the trigger that results in your first finished novel, bravo! Now, hear me, I’m not trying to talk you out of trying this. So, yes, I’m all for anything that motivates a would-be novelist to start and (more importantly) to finish. He compliments novice filmmakers for merely finishing. I can’t count the number who have told me they can’t get started, let alone finish.Īnd as my film director son says about movies, simply producing one is a major accomplishment, let alone a good one. Over my four decades teaching writing, I’ve learned that the single most debilitating barrier to writers finishing writing their novels has been fear-fear that kills impetus. The NaNoWriMo folks “believe stories matter.” So do I.Īnd in the last 18 years since this effort began, countless writers have raved to me that NaNoWriMo was the vehicle that finally motivated them to actually finish. If you complete or “win” the challenge, you earn banners and certificates and can purchase t-shirts and other merchandise. Once you hit 50,000 words, you upload your manuscript to the site for verification. You create an account on the NaNoWriMo site and log your daily progress starting at 12:01 a.m. You’re encouraged to outline your novel in September and October. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to shake you out of your writing comfort zone and show you what’s possible while providing resources, support, and accountability. These days, you may continue a book you’ve already started as long as you count only new words written in November. The official challenge is to write the first draft of a new, 50,000-word novel in 30 days - an average of 1,667 words per day. Instrinsic motivation is always more powerful than extrinsic rewards, and becoming a master at something like writing is intrinsically good.Need help writing your novel? Click here to download my ultimate 12-step guide. This is about mastering the craft of writing. Then, set it for another thirty minutes and see if you can beat your word count from last time. Set it for thirty minutes and see how many words you can write. Spend your time wisely by using a timer (we like e.). Your inner procrastinator may try to convince you otherwise, but there are only so many hours in November. November is for writing. The Oxford Comma and misuse of your/you're can wait for December. Don't be one of those writers who submits their unedited NaNoWriMo novel to publishers on December 1. Quantity begets quality, so write quickly today. Today, writing fast is the most important thing you can do. We'd love to host several of these per week. If you'd like to help encourage your fellow writers, consider writing a post for the community area. An exclusive NaNoWriMo Facebook group for Write Practice members only.A NaNoWriMo community area full of content and places to interact with other NaNoWriMo participants.This month, why not write your novel with The Write Practice.

Write With FriendsĬommunity can provide positive reinforcement to help you dominate NaNoWriMo. I actually own this typewriter! Photo by mpclemens 1.

National novel writing month nanowrimo winner