Merry, Merry Second Calling

[Peg Herring]

Just got word that my second book has been accepted by my publisher, and of course I have to analyze that feeling.

I doubt if I'm quite as excited as the first time. First, nothing beats the initial feeling of vindication and support a writer gets with publication with a traditional house. It's knowing that it isn't just you, or you and your spouse, who believe in your work. It's success on the best level.

In addition, at the second call you know how much work you're in for, so there's a sense of sobriety, too. I'm more aware of the rounds of editing, the pre-pub work, and the post-pub promotion that will be required with this book, since I've done it once. It's not enough to put me off, for sure, and I console myself with the fact that I've done my groundwork, but I'm not as naive as I was three years ago. I know how many letters, press releases, phone calls, public appearances, and emails will be involved in making and selling Book Two.

That is not to say that I did not dance when notification came. It's wonderful to know I won't be one of the many authors who publish one book and then cannot find another inside them. It's wonderful to have a goal again, since the first book's promotion has begun to wind down as its print run comes close to selling out. And it will be nice to be able to say in my public and my private conversations, "Yes, I have another book coming soon." It makes me that much more an author, at least inside my own head.