So You Wrote the Book, Now What?

You’re waiting. You’re really trying not to check your e-mail too often. But what do you do with yourself?

Write the next thing.

No! I’m in love with this thing. I can’t write anything else right now. I’m not sure if I can write any other characters or world, ever!

Sound familiar?

Yeah, me too. You need to get past that. And the best way to do it is to just sit down and work on something. It can be absolutely wild, unsaleable, completely crazy. Who cares? The point is, you’re writing and it’s fun. That’s why you started writing in the first place, right?

All I can tell you is what worked for me. And I wrote this truly insane women’s fiction thing which not only can I not imagine selling, I can’t imagine anyone READING it now, though I was bonkers enough to show it to a couple of relatives. Heaven only knows why they still speak to me.

But it taught me a lot. It taught me that I have other stories in me besides the one I’m trying to sell. It taught me that I really enjoy creating a group of people that I want to spend time with. And it taught me plenty about plot, structure and the nuts and bolts of writing a book. All good, and all important in the one that ultimately WAS a go.

So while you’re waiting, just start writing. Anything. Trust me, I can’t judge!

(Cozy Mystery Village admin Kathleen Marple Kalb is a weekend anchor, weekday mom, and finally, published author of A FATAL FINALE, after two earlier projects, a couple hundred rejections, and a family health crisis. So she knows.)