Most first-time novelists never actually become first-time novelists; in most cases “first novels” end up abandoned as real life overwhelms the time commitment and intellectual energy necessary to take a book from concept to completion. Those lucky enough to finish sometimes never find a publisher, ending up instead with dashed hopes and a pile of rejection notices that begin with “While we found your book intriguing and well-crafted…” and end with “…and we’re sure that......