73. NaNoWriMo is nearly over. So now what?

"It took me a while to get to this point, but I printed out my entire manuscript. And held it in my hands. And that was incredible. Just to feel the weight of all those pages." - Beth Barany


In this episode of "How To Write The Future" podcast, “73. NaNoWriMo is nearly over. So now what?” host Beth Barany discusses with her husband, fellow author, Ezra Barany, what to do after NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) comes to an end. They provide tips for writers, such as taking a break from the manuscript, playing with taglines and book trailers, and exploring ideas for marketing the book. They emphasize the importance of celebrating your big accomplishment and continuing the writing journey beyond NaNoWriMo. So grab your pen, celebrate your achievements, and keep writing!


ABOUT THE HOW TO WRITE THE FUTURE PODCAST

The How To Write The Future podcast is for science fiction and fantasy writers who want to write positive futures and successfully bring those stories out into the marketplace. Hosted by Beth Barany, science fiction novelist and creativity coach for writers. We cover tips for fiction writers and get curious about the future of humanity.


ABOUT BETH BARANY

Beth Barany, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction novelist, teaches novelists how to write, edit, and publish their books as a coach, teacher, consultant, and developmental editor.

ABOUT EZRA BARANY

Ezra Barany loves riveting readers with thrillers, but by order of the Department of Motor Vehicles he must place a warning on every book cover, “Do not read while driving.” His first two books in The Torah Codes series were award-winning international bestsellers. The next three books in the 4-book series wowed readers too! In his free time, he has eye-opening discussions on the art of writing novels with his wife and book coach, Beth Barany. A high school physics teacher, Ezra lives in Oakland with his beloved wife and two cats working on the next book in The Torah Codes series. Ezra, not the cats. For a free short story in The Torah Codes series, “The Mourner’s Kaddish,” do please go to http://www.thetorahcodes.com/.


RESOURCES

Free World Building Workbook for Fiction Writers: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/world-building-resources/

Ezra Barany: https://thetorahcodes.com/

Fiction by Beth Barany: https://author.bethbarany.com/

Sign up for the 30-minute Story Success Clinic with Beth Barany: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/story-success-clinic/

• SHOW PRODUCTION BY Beth Barany
• SHOW NOTES by Kerry-Ann McDade

c. 2023 BETH BARANY

https://bethbarany.com/

--
CONNECT
Contact Beth: https://writersfunzone.com/blog/podcast/#tve-jump-185b4422580
Email: beth@bethbarany.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethbarany/

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EDITED WITH DESCRIPT: https://get.descript.com/0clwwvlf6e3j
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Transcript

Episode 73 - NaNoWriMo is nearly over. So now what?

NaNoWriMo is nearly over. So what now?

Hey, everyone. Welcome to an episode of How To Write The Future with your host, Beth Barany. That's me. I am a writing teacher, creativity coach, and science fiction and fantasy novelist.

And I created this podcast to offer you tips for your writing life, Craft, Publishing, Marketing, and the Writer's Mindset. Something I call the Writers Stance.

My mission is to help you, empower you, to step into your practice of writing your amazing stories.

Because I believe that stories have power.

We all learn how to be because of the stories in our culture. So I encourage you to inject your stories into the culture. Because what we vision we help make so.

I have a different kind of episode for you today.

It's me chatting with my husband, Ezra Barany, also a writer.

And at the very end, I have a special message for you from-. Well, I'm just going to say a special message. Not from me, not from Ezra. You'll have to stay tuned to the end.

And congratulations everyone who participated in NaNoWriMo. Alright, here we go.

All right. Some tips you can do once you're finished with NaNoWriMo.

Put your book aside. And, Ezra you were saying.

EZRA BARANY

Yah, to um, um, This is just notes for us, right?

BETH BARANY

Yeah, but it's going to transcribe. I might use some of it.

EZRA BARANY

Okay.

BETH BARANY

Why not?

EZRA BARANY

Yeah, sure.

BETH BARANY

Yeah, keep it casual.

EZRA BARANY

Um, play with tag lines. Do a search for how to write taglines and book blurbs online. Templates are fun. And play with it. Book trailers. Play with instant video makers. 

Find some images you like.

BETH BARANY

And some music. And make a book trailer.

EZRA BARANY

Royalty free.

BETH BARANY

Yeah. Royalty free.

And you're also saying, um, Log lines. Yeah. It can be really exciting to play with the finished product of your book: what will it look like? What will the cover be? Play with Canva and design a cover. Um, Play with, um, ideas for marketing the book. You can just jump over the editing process for the moment and stay in that first draft energy that's so exciting. Um, yeah. And put the manuscript aside. Really give it a rest. And maybe I can, I can talk a little bit more about why that's important.

Uh, personally, I think it helps when you edit, you want to have distance from the work you edit so that you can make decisions that's best for the story and not be so attached to. Not be so attached to it.

I prefer to edit when I don't remember what it was like to write the first draft of it. And that for me personally is like a few months easily. It depends.

How much you, how long? How much time do you need before you feel ready to edit a first draft?

EZRA BARANY

I usually forgot what I've done in three seconds.

BETH BARANY

Um, one, 1000.

EZRA BARANY

What is this? I've never seen this before.

This is someone else's book I'm starting to read.

BETH BARANY

Come on… Ezra's joking.

EZRA BARANY

Also, two to three months.

BETH BARANY

Two three months for you too, as well. Okay.

EZRA BARANY

Something like that.

BETH BARANY

Yeah. So really the most important thing to do as NaNoWriMo is coming to a close is is celebrate. You know, December one, celebrate. And if you're not done with your book, keep going.

I mean both you and I have- I did write one novel in the span of two months and I finished it on December 31st. And that turned out to be about an 85,000-word novel.

I've seen you start a book on November 1st and keep going into the spring cause you're writing some big, a hundred thousand-word thing. Remember?

EZRA BARANY

Yeah, I thought a nice, short story about the origin of Tinkerbell would be fun. Um, but then I realized, origin story?! That does not sound like a short story.

That sounds epic. It's turned into over a hundred thousand words.

BETH BARANY

Yeah, yeah. So keep going. You know, NaNoWriMo is a great place to start but it isn't a um, the be-all end-all, right?

Being a writer is about writing all your wrong. Uh, out all year around - all year round. 

This is what I'm trying to say. Yeah. Great.

Any other tips that we can give people as NaNoWriMo comes to a close?

EZRA BARANY

Um, I would say go out and, and enjoy yourself. Um, interact. Uh, and, and tell people what you've done.

BETH BARANY

Celebrate not just by you yourself and you, you know, with your friends, with your fellow writers, with buddies, with you know the barista at the cafe.

Yeah, celebrate. You did an amazing thing. It's incredible.

EZRA BARANY

And think about this. If you were to go into say a grocery store, how many people in that entire grocery store could say they've written a book?

Very few, if any. So, you've done a huge accomplishment. And that's really something worthwhile to think about.

BETH BARANY

And celebrate. And something that I've done. It took me a while to get to this point, but I printed out my entire manuscript. And held it in my hands. And that was incredible. Just to feel the weight of all those pages.

So, so exciting. And share it with someone in your family who may not understand what it is you're doing. And let them feel the weight. And then like, oh, now I see what you've been spending your weekends and evenings and, you know, odd hours doing like, wow, that's impressive.

And also I have to say something that is really fun that I have done during the process of writing a first draft with - with you, is I read pages to you even, you know, crappy first drafts just to get that instant, like, congratulations. So, you don't have to wait to the end of the month to celebrate. You can celebrate right now. You can celebrate every day when you write new content, new material for your story. It's a worthy thing to celebrate.

Anything - anything else?

I think that's good. It's a good. Um,

EZRA BARANY

Eat cashews.

BETH BARANY

Eat cashews, Ezra says, all right.

BETH BARANY

I have one more tip for you.

And that's from our cat, Rocket.

ROCKET THE CAT

Say it again. Really? Say it again. What do you want? Okay.

BETH

All right, everyone. That's it for now.

So write long and prosper.