When you’re writing your first novel or first few short stories, focus on learning, growing, and on the story you want to tell. Focus on discovering the process that works for you as a writer.

Don’t worry about the market or what you think will or won’t sell.

Don’t have expectations about how good it will or won’t be.

Have fun, write your story, and learn. You might even want to consider it a great, enjoyable experiment.

I have mentioned several times on this blog my first failed novel. It was a “failure” in the sense that after spending three years of undergrad writing and trying to polish it, I threw in the towel on it, and it’s never seen the light of day.

It was not really a failure, though. I had a blast with it. I love the characters to this day and all the melodrama of the plot. It’s very me, and very wonderfully ridiculous.

I ended up being able to recycle certain concepts and plot points from that novel in my Herezoth trilogy, adapting them as needed. In fact, after the prequel I have drafted, I plan to return to my draft of the start of a sequel trilogy featuring Princess Melly of Herezoth–who shares some startling resemblances to Princess Cassandra of the kingdom of Satorley.

But most of all, in writing a novel that I finally had to admit in various respects didn’t work–regarding genre, regarding plot, and more–I learned what NOT to do when I started writing the first draft of “The Crimson League.” That draft was workable and had potential my failed novel “Life’s Little Jokes” never did, precisely because I took the time to write and work with “Life’s Little Jokes.”

I asked myself: What’s working? What isn’t? Why is tone off here? What is this issue with pacing? Does this subplot really work? How much world building is needed, and did I do it well? What are my strengths as a writer? (It’s dialogue).

What am I really doing with this story? What am I wanting it to accomplish? Is that clear to the reader? Do I, in fact, accomplish what I set out to do?

The deep dive into creative writing I took with “Life’s Little Jokes” was the preparation I needed to draft a trilogy that has a clear genre, engaging characters, makes great use of my particular strengths as a writer, is better paced, and is better plotted.

That’s a win. Not everyone’s first piece of writing will be a “failure” in the sense of being unmarketable as a story, but honestly, it’s ok if yours isn’t marketable. I’d hold that if you don’t try too hard to make it marketable, you might have a better chance of writing something worth reading, and you’ll definitely have more fun.

Regardless of all that, if you focus on what you can learn above all else, you’ve set yourself up to move onward and upward.