I’ve finished my first book, Félicité Found.
Now what?
Should I step off the writing train? Should I place all my focus on sending out query letters? Should I become a hermit-like mole, gobbling up other author’s words?
This has been an odd time for me. I took a wee break, then had to whip out a synopsis letter super quick. After that, I really didn’t want to write or read anything. I pretty much felt like I was in blah-blah-land, like I had barely graduated from college with my whole future wide open. I felt aimless, needed something to do.
A wise person told me: once I started querying my completed first manuscript, I should start writing my next—hop right into the next idea. On Tuesday night, I took her advice. Now I’ve got the first chapter of Julia King’s next hot seller done. It was liberating to formulate my new idea into words, especially because it’s been nagging at me for months.
And my WIP is completely different than my first book. The voice sings to me, making butterflies flutter their way through my veins. I love the voice of Félicité Found, too. It’s just different, combining a pinch of solemnity and a splash of darkness.
Writing another book (the first in a trilogy), has opened up my creative mind again. Funny enough, having gone through Félicité Found so many times has definitely earned me the right to start something new.
I’m not putting Félicité Found on the shelf, never to look at it again. I will be querying her out until my diligence gains me an agent, then a publisher. But for now, all I can do is progress forward, crafting another story.
Being an author is certainly difficult, but super fun when the creative juices are being pumped onto the page.
What would you suggest doing after you’ve finished your first, second, or twenty-eighth novels?
John Grisham tends to put out a novel a year while other authors, such as Nora Roberts, seem to output a huge amount of material to the point they need another pen name for distribution (J.D. Robb). I think this proves they've come to a point where writing is a rhythm for them--one book is done another is waiting to get written.
ReplyDeleteYou're doing good, Julia, by getting back on that horse and write again! We writers need to keep pressing on in order to improve our craft...and certainly, you've discovered that all on your own!
Good post!