It is done!
+ Show Spoiler +
Word count: 175,505
Hours spent on first draft: Somewhere along the lines of 1200
Number of times I've promised to scrap this project and do something worthwhile: Somewhere along the lines of 8000
Number of chapters scrapped because they were bad: 16 (out of 40)
Number of Starcraft/Esport references: 12
Amount of excitement: Immeasurable
Word count: 175,505
Hours spent on first draft: Somewhere along the lines of 1200
Number of times I've promised to scrap this project and do something worthwhile: Somewhere along the lines of 8000
Number of chapters scrapped because they were bad: 16 (out of 40)
Number of Starcraft/Esport references: 12
Amount of excitement: Immeasurable
To be clear, I've gotten in touch with an agent whose track record includes work with two recognized fantasy authors, and he has shown some interest in my manuscript (asking for all of it), but there are no guarantees yet. He hasn't gotten back to me with a final statement yet, so he might still decide that my story isn't worth trying to find a publisher for, but I couldn't contain my excitement. Even if he ultimately turns me down, I feel like there is at least a chance that someone in the business might like my work enough to publish it.
I realize that the distance from an agent showing interest to actually being published is large, but I feel a lot more like I might some day get to be an author now than I did a month ago. To keep myself from biting my nails all day and spamming F5 in my inbox, I'm writing a series of short stories in order to have something to do in the meantime, and I'm actually more happy with the overall quality of those drafts than I am with what I sent off to the agent (though I suppose it's natural to second guess yourself when you're waiting for someone else to judge you). I might start seriously working on the sequel I've had in mind tomorrow, because what better way to relax than to bury yourself in even more stuff?
So excited.