Finished My First Draft
Journey to Querying #1
Welcome to what will be something of a sub-series on my substack, Journey to Querying. The goal of this series is to chronicle each step of what I do in preparation for querying. I want to do this because I like to talk about writing if I’m not actively writing.
A lot of my Very Cool Writer Friends are already agented, published, somewhere in between, or like me and seeking representation. I always find it helpful to see what other writer’s do when it comes to how they not only craft their story, but how they get it from point A to point Z.
Why YA?
Since 2022, I have been querying my adult romance manuscripts seeking representation. I have queried three different stories in the last four years. A few months ago I decided to give writing a contemporary YA a try. YA is the first manuscript I ever written (back in college, before I knew how to write a book) and it’s a genre that has always been precious to me (and many as it’s where so many fall in love with reading). I’m also in a time in my life where I want to explore the perspectives and experiences of pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults. I work with middle schoolers and the way kids view the world is so much better than adults.
I think there is something inherenitly hopeful about being a kid. Unless that is just the optimist in me, because I still feel this way as an adult. However, kids are especially more hopeful. They are resilient as hell and they’re more open to change and possibility than adults. I think maybe that’s why I felt called to write a novel with a YA protagonist. That….and….
The Plot (Not really. But.)
Basically this book has a loose time travel element to it, and when I cooked up this idea back in the summer of 2024 (when I thought i’d never actually write it), it started out with the protagonist as an adult, and then ended with her as an adult, but the bulk of the story was about her as a kid. I felt like if I really wrote this book, my audience (kids) wouldn’t want to read about adults, even if it were only for the first and last chapter.
Think about it, the first chapter is your first impression of the book. You’re the 15 year old who checked my book out from the library. Do you REALLY want to read about some thirty-something year old for however many pages? Probably not.
I felt like if i was going to do this, I needed to commit to my teenage narrative.
If you’re curious about the plot you can DM me on instagram. I’m happy to talk anytime! I just don’t want to share it here because I haven’t nailed my blurb or pitch and since I only finished my first draft, I’m sure a lot is going to change.
Instagram: Johnna Matook
First Draft Stats
Okay. I don’t have stats for you. I hate the word. Anyway. I finished this manuscript at 72,000 words, which was close to what I was going for as far as word count! I was aiming for 75,000 and I think when I get into edits I’ll reach that goal (or more, knowing me). I’m a mega-underwriter. Before this, my longest first draft was a little over 50K. That manuscript ended up being 89K when all was said and done. I’m really proud of myself for the way I was able to plot and build this book.
I can’t say when I started this book…I had the idea in the summer of 2024 and I wrote, like, 500ish words in a random doc and then abandoned it. I picked it back up in November 2025 when I needed something different to work on that wasn’t Adult romance. I put it away again, because I wasn’t feeling too confident about it. I’ve only plotted romance and not a coming-of-age, which is what I want this to be (with a romance subplot).
But then I grabbed my copy of Save the Cat and was kind of like fuck it, I know how to do this. I can do this. I think maybe February (definitely March, though!) was when I was I started to plot and work on the book. It was the fastest I ever drafted a book. And I’m not sure why or how it happened, just that it did. I don’t expect myself to draft this fast again.
Also, the speed doesn’t matter. We all have different brains. I have this anxiety around writing where if I don’t write everyday, I’ll lose my “flow” and that contributes to why I might draft faster. But also, because I draft fast, it can also leave a bit of a whirlwind when I go to edits. I don’t want anyone to read this paragraph and feel some type away about the speed of which you or I draft. There’s no pressure. It’s a marathon not a sprint.
Here’s what I’m going to do next
I plan to a quick glimpse/run-through of the draft. There are definitely loose ends I’d like to change or fix before I properly “rest” the draft. I want to print this draft and do my first round of revisions on paper. I’ve done this two other times. I try not to because it’s EXPENSIVE. But it helps me a LOT. Seeing the words on page where I can scratch things out and draw all over it makes me a stronger writer. After my “quick run through” (lol, quick) I’ll rest it for about a month and then print it. Then after I do that round of edits…well, maybe i’ll post about it here.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING
ROLLS AND RIVALRY by KRISTY BOYCE
This is the third in the Quest for Love trilogy (all standalones, but have a Dungeons and Dragons element). I reread the first two as “research” for helping me plot/refamiliarize myself with modern YA stories. I LOVE. THIS. SERIES. SO. MUCH. Like. I can’t get over how much I adored this third book. I’m a band kid (and band adult) and this book was just so adorable and perfect awfhawpeoghpofhpeofh
THE GUNCLE by STEVEN ROWLEY
IT WAS SO GOOD I TEARED UP MULTIPLE TIMES AND LAUGHED OUT LOUD SO MUCH. You need to read this one. I had my eye on it for YEARS but because i only ever read adult romance and not contemporary fiction i was worried i wouldn’t enjoy it. I am SO happy I was wrong. I want to read more by Stevven Rowley. He’s so funny and sincere. I think this book will be a movie and I CANNOT WAIT to see it on the screen (but also terrified they’ll ruin it but it is what it is).
Finishing a draft is always a good feeling! 💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿