It's done!

[xerinmichellex]

The good and the bad of this.

First, the good: I finished the first draft of my WIP when I wanted to! Yeah! The bad part is that it isn't a novel I can query. The novel is the second book for the YA series I am currently querying for. When I began querying Book One, I decided to start the second novel since I had the itch to write it. I went on a furious writing spree and, three months later, it is done. (I usually take four to five months to finish a novel, for the record.) It's also interesting that Book Two is longer than the first book. Not by much, about 11K words more. Keep in mind, this is all before editing. A lot could change.

So, my statistics are three completed novels; two that could be queried for and the other in the waiting if Book One isn’t agented. Those new to Query Hell, it is highly frowned upon to query the second book in a planned series, if the first one doesn't find representation. It seems like a no brainer: If the first novel doesn't sell, what's the point in having the second? Believe me, I didn't intend for my next completed manuscript to be the sequel...it just felt right to write it. Another tip for Query Hell: Always start another, separate manuscript, should the one being queried not sell. It takes your mind off of the process and when you're done querying Agent #200, another novel is ready to be thrown into the submission wheel.

I'm very happy that Book Two is done. It's amazing to watch the series begin to take shape. The first book ends with the "audience" thinking one thing. Book Two comes along and there is a whole other "thing" going on in the series. I like stories that develop over time--where there is one story being told, but it needs multiple books to tell it (think in terms of Lost). It is very exciting to see the world that is forming in this series. And it only gets better with Book Three and beyond.

Editing for Book Two still needs to be completed, and then I plan on re-editing my other novel outside of the series. Then, it's on to the next manuscript, which is different from what I've finished. Instead of dealing with paranormal/fantasy/SciFi, I'll be immersed in a road trip, psychological thriller. Fingers crossed to have this new one finished by the end of the year.