Second Book Milestone

Lots of us worry we’re just a one-book wonder, especially if it took years to crack the publishing bubble with our first book. In most cases, that’s the book we sent to contests and polished until it shone with vigorous vocabulary and sharp characterization and cogent plotting. Then, once it was accepted for publication and we held our “baby” in our hands (insert a chorus of hallelujahs here), we finally set it down and the glow faded and we wondered, “What the heck do I do now?”

Well, if we were the busy, practicing writer we should always be, we had a second story. But you know, that one may not be as polished, having not suffered (or enjoyed) such a long gestation period. But we’ve got to put it out there because now we’re “published” and we have to follow up with another.

You know, this doesn’t get any easier. But if one book gave us legitimacy in the eyes of our non-writing extended family, two books says we’re serious about this “hobby.”

I’m pleased to say I’ve hit the second book milestone with a contract for my beauty-and-the-beast fantasy romance “BLOODSTONE.” So I’m celebrating tonight, and like Scarlet O’Hara, I’ll worry about the third book milestone “tomorrow.”