Submitting A Book And Starting A New one

Well, the second novel in the Richard Nottingham series is now with the publisher. She’ll be back on Monday and a few days after that I expect the verdict. A good one, I hope, but who can ever really know? All that faith in myself, in my writing, is put on the line. It’s a little like waiting for the result of an exam where you think you’ve done well, but you’re not really sure, and the outcome is out of your hands.
As my publisher has sold out to a larger (but happily not large) publisher, this book is particularly important. Not only does it have to please her, but the new bosses, too. They plan on keeping the imprint and the current writers, but there’s always that caveat – as long as we like the book.
In the meantime, ever the optimist, I’ve written the first thousand words of the next book. The idea for it has been in my head for a while, cooking away on the back burner. In some ways going to it without any real break from the second volume offers a sense of continuity. I don’t have to take the time to put myself in the heads of the main characters; it’s already there.
That doesn’t make it easier. I have 1,000 words written. Whether they’re the right thousand words remains to be seen. But they’re a start.