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WHAT NEXT?

I’ve been told that it’s better to finish one book before you start the next. I’ve gotten that advice from more than one source. But there are several reasons why I’m not doing that. Here you go.

  1. Writing books isn’t like it used to be. Authors used to finish one book, then do promotions for it, book signings, etc, Whatever the publisher wanted. Then start over with the next. Now the whole writing/publishing business has changed. For one thing, readers, especially readers of romance novels, seem to want something from the author at least twice a year. I can see that’s not impossible, but it takes planning and dedication and lots of work. And for me at least, there’s no way that can happen if I don’t at least research the next book while I’m getting the previous one ready to release. Especially the first time around.

  2. The first four books I’m writing are part of a series, where the heroes in each one were all room-mates at college at Stanford. They each had a special girl, in high school or right after, that they lost for a variety of reasons. So—I need to at least decide what the order of the stories will be, and. of course, I will plant some hints and previews for the next one in the previous story.

  3. I have the reverse problem of most authors, I don’t have to search for the inspiration for the next story to write. I’ve got a list of more than fifty story ideas and titles. And I must admit, often it’s more tantalizing to create a new story that it is to edit a good story to make it great. Discipline, old man, discipline.

  4. The last seven years of my working career I spent as an Account Manager for AT&T business telephone systems. I had several big customers, including one if the big box store chains, a major international financial institution, and even one of the biggest states in the U.S. As a result, I learned multi-tasking as a fine art form, changing gears and projects literally minute by minute. So—I still feel guilty sometimes when I’m not trying to do three things at once. Not the best working practice for a writer, but It’s going to take a long time, maybe forever, for me to become “un-brainwashed.”

Return to Rainbow Ridge is basically done. I’m almost finished going through it for the umpteenth time to make sure there are no plot holes and that it flows the way I want it to. It will be ready for Beta Readers in a few days.

I’ve also sent off a query to a professional editor to evaluate my manuscript and give me some feedback, as soon as the Beta Reader process is finished. I can afford that much, and probably can’t afford not to. We’ll see how it all works out.

Then I start all over with the next one, and the next. Oh yeah—I already have.

Richard McClellan