A few years ago, I was talking to a friend who teaches elementary-school-age children. I was explaining having some trouble with an acquaintance because he jumped around, from thing to thing. I can barely do one thing at once!
My friend nodded wisely and said, “Transitions are a thing.”
Transitions. Are. A. Thing.
That would have been such good information about thirty years ago. It’s good information now, of course, but having this knowledge in the past would have helped me give myself grace as I struggle to move on from… well, anything.
Last week I turned in the manuscript for book 3 (tentatively titled “Balancing the Woofs”.) From here, the editor reads the manuscript and then makes a recommendation to the publisher about whether to offer a contract. I’ve been hearing a lot of rumor-mill stuff that publishers are nervous right now (gosh, I wonder why?) and are pulling back from anything that’s not rock solid. So, I’ve been worried that book 3 might not make it.
Book 3 has an important place in my (imaginary) plan. Having one book is a thing. Having two books feels like a transition (that word) from one-hit-wonder to having some staying power. With book 3, I’ll be in a place to have some backstock and my marketing (should I ever choose to actually follow my marketing plan) can build on having multiple books available.
While waiting, I’ve gone back to a manuscript NOT for the canine accounting series I worked on in November. I got 25,000+ words into the story, but needed to spend some time sorting out characters, plot, and story before moving forward again. When finished, I’d like to shop the manuscript to some other publishers, hopefully getting a new contract that would include some promotional help. After that, I’ll return to writing book 4 and book 5 of Canine Accounting Capers.
And, rather than work on my outline and plot, I have done an excellent job of procrasti-painting.
Another thing on my mind is some news I received recently about a situation I moved away from. This will be vague (sorry) because I don’t want to bring anyone else into the issue. Sufficient to say that I got some impartial feedback that my big decision of early 2024 was possibly the best one I ever made.
The decision to make that transition was one of the hardest of life, but once I made it I never looked back. It’s been on my mind. The deeper I get into authorship, the harder it is to think of leading an employed life again. And I worry that not only have I become unemployable, I may just be too much for society at large. When my friend told me “the feedback”, I felt like there was one less rock in my mental backpack. Yes, I could have handled things better. And, there was nothing I could have done that would have changed the outcome.
It looked like spring had arrived, but a big storm system has come through, shutting down that transition and making us all huddle inside. That image, of trying to be safe and wait… well, I think I’ll try building a bridge to the next thing instead.