Starting Again
Traci Kenworth
One of the hardest things to do, at first, is to concentrate on another book while the first’s out being subbed. Your attention span is centered on the former to the point of giving you little freeze episodes when you attempt to begin the next. But you have to push through that until the excitement of the new takes over and you can almost forget you have one out there.
I do this by picking out my cast. Seeing and focusing on each character involved in the new work helps to ignite the excitement of the quest to do it again, only better. Yes, it’s true. Finishing the first book is a great triumph. Most people don’t get that far. So pat yourself on the back. But the truth is, if you want to be published, and become an author, you have to write, write, write.
Your story has to become part of you. It has to enter your thoughts while your washing dishes, doing the laundry, running errands. You have to jot notes down on it while running through the day. Think of it while tuning into your favorite TV shows. Dream of it at night, even when you’re exhausted. In short, it has to become a part of you.
The more you write, the more experience you gain, the better your book gets. The material starts to flow, to pick up rhythm. Soon, it will gain that center place in your thoughts and help you ease through the waiting on the first. So, you see, that’s why the writing community (agents, editors, etc.) advices to begin a new work, because not only does it help buffer you from any rejections you receive, it feeds you with a new hope, a new chance to beat the odds. It also gives you something else to offer should an agent ask, “What else do you have?”
So get to work on your next book while subbing. It will only help you grow on your journey through a writer’s life. After all, you want this to be a career, right? So, make sure you dig into the next step with everything you’ve learned, everything you are learning right now, and you will go far in your career.
What are some of your tips to focus on a new book while the others out to agents? Editors?
Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author 
I find that, if I focus too much on an article that I’ve sent to editors, I get anxious about it. What I usually do is have a list of what articles I need to write, when they need to be written, and go immediately to the next one on the list, so that I don’t worry about the status of the former until I hear back from the editor.
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Definitely, Daniel, it helps so much to have a backup!! Thanks for commenting!!
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