We’ve reached the end of National Novel Writing Month. Hopefully, your NaNoWriMo momentum has stayed strong and you’ve hit your November writing goals! But do you have written one of the next NaNoWriMo bestsellers?
Now you have a finished (or in-progress) manuscript, I imagine you’re starting to think about what to do with it next. Maybe you want to find a trustworthy book editor to apply the final polish. Or seek out your book publishing options.
It’s hard to imagine a NaNoWriMo bestseller being born amidst the rushed chaos of a single month. However, you absolutely can dream big! There are quite a few writers that have launched their writing careers off the books they wrote or started during NaNoWriMo!
Looking for a little inspiration to keep you writing and editing your book now that NaNoWriMo is over? Check out these five NaNoWriMo bestsellers that were written during National Novel Writing Month.
1. Wool by Hugh Howey
Hugh Howey is one of those authors most writers hear about when tackling the challenges of NaNoWriMo. His science-fiction novel Wool started as a novelette Howey self-published online. When he noticed an interest in the story, the writer decided to scrap his plans to pen a different novel during NaNoWriMo. Instead, he focused on turning Wool into a full-fledged book.
Howey wrote maniacally, sometimes waking up as early as three AM to schedule some writing time. He finished Wool and later penned two more novels to complete a trilogy. Howey’s first book went on to become a NaNoWriMo bestseller. All three eventually were picked up by a major publisher, and his books have since been translated into over 19 languages.
What to take away:
Howey’s story goes to show that regardless of the type of publication you choose—whether self-publishing, hybrid, or traditional—a lot can change throughout your writing career and the life-cycle of your books. It’s important to be flexible with the publishing process because you never know what opportunities may spring from putting your work out there.
2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This NaNoWriMo bestseller was so successful, it not only flew off bookstore shelves but was turned into a film starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, making it the first NaNoWriMo book to be adapted into a film. It’s kind of amazing to think it started as a NaNoWriMo project, isn’t it?
A lesser-known fact is that Gruen actually ‘lost’ NaNoWriMo with this book. That’s right, she didn’t hit the standard NaNoWriMo challenge of 50,000 words. Gruen came up 10,000 words short of her writing goal but refused to let this discourage her. Instead, she saw it as a success because the purpose of NaNoWriMo isn’t the word count; it’s to write.
As Jodi Picoult once said, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” It seems like Sara Gruen took these words to heart!
What to take away:
It’s easy to look at NaNoWriMo bestsellers like Water for Elephants and assume the writer has it all figured out. However, even published authors like Gruen can struggle to write. In her NaNoWriMo pep talk, Gruen offers some positive advice on what to do when life gets in the way; it’s okay sometimes to make writing the fun stuff the sole aim of your daily writing habit. You can worry about the hard parts and editing later.
3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
This is probably one of the greatest NaNoWriMo success stories of all time. Marissa Meyer penned Cinder (a sci-fi retelling of the fairytale Cinderella) during November and turned it into a NaNoWriMo bestseller. Not only that, but she penned two other books, Scarlet (a Little Red Riding Hood retelling) and Cress (a Rapunzel retelling), during the same NaNoWriMo!
This came about in 2008 when Meyer got wind of a local writing competition. Whoever wrote the most words during National Novel Writing Month would win a walk-on role in a Star Trek episode. As a self-proclaimed geek, Meyer was keen to give it a shot. Although she didn’t end up winning (she came in third place), Meyer completed three first drafts in 30 days—and went on to become a NaNoWriMo bestselling author. You could say she ended up winning the bigger prize!
What to take away:
Meyer’s total word count for her three manuscripts amounted to a jaw-dropping 150,000 words in a single month. While this is impressive, Meyer points to the extensive revisions that happened after NaNoWriMo was over as the most important part of her process. Herein lies one of the best editing tips from an author ever: great books don’t come from your first draft. NaNoWriMo bestsellers aren’t made during November; they’re made in the weeks and months of writing and revisions that follow.
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
In 2011, The Night Circus seemed like it was everywhere. Booktubers were talking about it, book clubs were reading it, and the novel even received a mention on Oprah’s website! It’s safe to say that Morgenstern’s debut novel was making waves. Yes, you guessed it, this is another NaNoWriMo bestseller born of a project that started on November 1st.
The Night Circus wasn’t written over a single NaNoWriMo, but three. Morgenstern started it in 2005 and continued to work on it for the following two NaNoWriMos. When she began, the novel didn’t look anything like the NaNoWriMo bestseller it is today. But Morgenstern kept pushing forward and putting words down until the story took shape over many, many rewrites.
What to take away:
Morgenstern’s story of publishing success is a reminder of the dedication, patience, and persistence needed to live the writer’s life, even when faced with uncertainty.
5. The Beautiful Land by Alan Averill
This sci-fi/horror novel took the literary world by storm and is yet another bestseller to emerge from NaNoWriMo. Averill started The Beautiful Land as a NaNoWriMo project and continued to work on it for three more months after the event ended.
He spent six weeks editing the book and managed to get it into its near-final form. Averill credits NaNoWriMo with helping to make it a fast-paced book. Because NaNoWriMo encourages writers to put words on the page without overthinking, there’s very little time for second-guessing. Averill considers this one of the major positives of the NaNoWriMo challenge.
What to take away:
While you should never underestimate the power of editing, it’s also good to know when to stop editing your book. Every writer has a different editing timeline, but at some point, you’ll need to step back and let beta readers or a professional book editor take over. You don’t want to risk overediting, and it takes a village to create amazing books—yes, even NaNoWriMo bestsellers.
NaNoWriMo bestsellers: what’s next for your book?
Hopefully, these five NaNoWriMo bestseller stories have inspired you to keep writing long after November is over. Let us know in the comments below how you did during NaNoWriMo. Did you achieve your writing goals? Connect with other writers? Stretch yourself creatively?
While it’s exciting to hit that 50,000-word count in a single month, a NaNoWriMo first draft is rarely in publishable shape. The revision process afterwards is equally important, and we’re here to help with that.
Browse our site to find out about our author coaching or our editing services and read our testimonials to discover how we’ve helped other authors. We’d love to help you give your project that extra shine. Maybe you’ve got the next NaNoWriMo bestseller on your hands!
