That special feeling

[Tsujigiri]

I'm interested in knowing how other writers would rank the feeling that you have when you are actually holding the first draft to a book in your hands, for the very first time.
When you know that all the time and effort have yielded a very real result and that anything from this point onward is just fine tuning.

My first experience of this ranks with the births of my children, and all the subsequent times come very close.

What about you?

[Teresa Edgerton]

The very first time that I held a completed first draft in my hands, I knew there was still a lot more left to be done than just fine tuning. I was thrilled at having gotten so far, but figured I still had at least as far to go.

On the other hand, I was psyched by how much I had learned along the way, and confident the next draft would be something publishable. (Not true, as it turned out, but it gave me the encouragement I needed to keep on going.)

[Tsujigiri]

My first book was non-fiction so it was quite a dry academic work. I knew there was only the matter of tidying it up, some rewording and checking of facts to accomplish, and the editor agreed with me.
I had a much better rush from completing my first fantasy book, which wasn't a novel but a background and rule book for a role playing game