It's always a bit of a strange feeling for an author when a contracted book (one that a publisher has bought and is scheduled to be published) is turned in. On the one hand, there is this huge sense of relief - the book is done and the editor is pleased. Hooray!
But it also can be a bit nerve-wracking. The book is done, so now what? Because books are published so far ahead, authors also have to be thinking ahead. I'm now thinking about 2018, wondering if I'll have any books that year. If I don't sell something here in the next little while, I may not have anything published in 2018 and as someone who relies on this writing gig for income, it's really not good to skip a year.
I try not to worry, but it's hard. It's really hard. It's like this little nagging voice in the back of my head all the time - you need to sell something, you need to sell something. The fact that publishing is the slowest business in the world doesn't help. Once an author has something to sell, it can be a loooong time before a sale actually happens. Editors are busy. Most of them read submissions during their "off hours."
So, I'm busy working on coming up with a couple of proposals for future series. I'm also working on a manuscript I don't want to sell on proposal because I want to make it the best I can without any deadline pressure. And I have a completed manuscript on submission now.
Just like when I'm writing sometimes, I'm not sure what's going to happen next. But I hope I don't have to wait too long to find out!
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