The Real New Year

I’m not sure if anyone else experiences this, but for me the best time to start new projects isn’t January 1st, but the start of September. Maybe it’s a throwback to my school days, the crispness in the air, the new clothes… but every September once Labour Day passes, I feel rejuvenated and raring to go.

Which would be fine, except for one thing – I wasn’t sure what to get raring on. I have finally completed both The Outlaw Bride and Brimstone. They are in final form and sent to the editors/agents that requested them (save for one partial that is going out this week). So what do I work on now? It feels like forever since I've had the chance to start something new. But do I jump right into Book 2 of the series? Or should I take a break and see what happens with Brimstone first? I know I need to start querying agents – maybe I should do that? Or perhaps I could flesh out the new idea I came up with yesterday, or one of the other new ideas I came up with over the summer…

So many choices and all that rejuvenated energy and I’m not sure where to direct it. My brain is jumping from one to the next to the other and not landing anywhere for long enough to dig in and get busy.

I needed to sit myself down and say, “Self, time to focus'. Part of me really wants to delve into doing something brand spankin’ new. I came up with an idea during our Chapter workshop on Sunday. The more I looked at the idea, the more I realized there was the potential for a 4 book series in there. And with that came the tinglely excitement one gets when the opportunity to create a whole new world presents itself.

Another part of me wants to jump in and tell Quinn and Grace’s story (Book 2 of the Brimstone series). I came up with a great opening page and it made me hungry to get going on that and see what my creative brain has in store for these two crazy kids.

But then there is the business side of things. I need to start querying agents. It isn’t going to help further my hope to be able to write full time within the next 5 years if I don’t actually get an agent and/or sell to an editor.

So here’s what I decided to spend the next week on:

1) Research agents
2) Flesh out new series premise while the idea is still fresh

Then, once October hits, I will start my detailed outline of Saving Grace (Book 2) and sending out queries to agents.

Now that I have that all figured out – for those of you interested I will be doing a blog on my trip to Paris (which was fabulous) and posting some pixs probably in the next week or two. I’m still playing catch up at home and at work, so I and haven’t had time to download and sort my 600+ pictures as yet. But soon…soon…