Progress: 126,873 words, 16 Chapters (All 4th Draft)

The End.

That’s it. I completed my novel. I’ve gone through it many times now, reading it in varied fonts and on different screens, as well as having it read to me using text-to-speech software. I’ve been through a tedious checklist of grammar and punctuation guidelines and tried my best to bring real depth to each scene and chapter.

I still have concerns of course. That 120k-word goal I had set has been pushed aside. The scenes I had planned to cut were just too vital for my themes and character arcs, so the decision to keep them is one I hope will not be to my detriment when moving into the next phase of this 4-year project.

It has always been my intention to have this book traditionally published, an ambitious and possibly naive goal considering many authors only find traction after crafting multiple books. Still, I feel good about the work I’ve accomplished and remain optimistic that Father’s Creed has a future place on book store shelves (and subsequently your shelves at home).

Before publication, I’m seeking an agent, and that comes with a whole new set of challenges, namely finding agents that may be a good fit for the book, but also crafting a query letter, blurb, synopsis, and author bio. The words I write for each are in a way even more important than any scene or chapter or dialogue in the entirety of my novel. Without the right agent package, I will fail to capture any agent’s interest, which means they’ll never even SEE the book I’ve spent so much time on.

I plan on sharing more here about my agent search and all the materials I create for that purpose, but I also intend to write a few entries on lessons learned throughout my writing and drafting experience. I hope you’ll find them interesting, helpful, and perhaps inspiring.

Thank you everyone for coming along with me on my epic journey. It would be great if the end of my manuscript was the end of the process, but there is still more work to be done before this book is in your hands, and mine, and frankly, I can’t wait to read it again.

Happy writing, everyone!

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