WEDNESDAY WORKING: WHAT NEXT?

Another mini-milestone has been met. Last night I sent off the latest draft of my second book, Rule Number One, to my editor for her evaluation. It’s out of my hands for a few weeks. As the title of this post says, what next?

When it comes to writing, the question is not whether there is something that needs doing but WHICH ONE should I tackle next. Since I’m usually doing three things at once, that can get complicated.

One might imagine a logical answer would be working on the next book. I n this case, that is book #3, His Kind of Music. That is well underway, mostly driven by the critique group process. I’m ahead of my commitments for them, more chapters completed than I need to submit in the foreseeable future, so the pressure is off there a bit.

That’s not entirely true, since I still have to work out the details of the plot. I know, more or less, how it will end, but there are a lot of details to fill in between where the story is now and “they lived happily ever after.” I have some ideas, but they need organizing.

I still have to decide on a video trailer for Rule Number One—mainly deciding whether there’s to be one or not. I haven’t figured out an appealing outline for the trailer, especially the visual part. That’s a big deal, especially with a next to nothing budget approach that I’m taking. It’s on my to-do list, but I’m not terribly optimistic about it—yet.

I really, really, really need to figure out a more proactive marketing strategy for my books. So far, that’s been virtually non-existent. It’s by far my least favorite part of the process, and becomes less appealing when I don’t care much about making money from my writing. I don’t—but I still want people to read my books.

What’s next? For today, I think it’s figuring out what’s next. That seems to be enough of a challenge for now.

Stay well, be happy, smell the roses along the way. Do good to others, and don’t worry—we’ll figure this out.