I'm sort of a big deal....

Hi gang. My life is crawling back to the land of normal now. I'm more or less settled into my new job, and more than halfway through my secret novel for G. I'm still having a blast writing it. With these things falling into place, I have been considering the months to come.

First, the whole shortlisting thing.

I am really happy about it, but I'm also pretty realistic about it. It's very flattering to have placed so high, but I don't actually know what it means as far as my career. People have been very kind in their congratulations, and people do seem to really like Silver Bullets. I like it too, which is nice. I don't very often look back on something I've written and read it with much pleasure. I guess that's pretty common. With this book, I can see what's wrong and how to fix it, but, basically, I think it's a good book. So that's great. However.

People have very often said "Congratulations! What comes next?" The truth is that I just don't know. Bullets is something I'll be back to work on in about a month, and that will take a little while to revise and expand. IF I even should expand it. I'm not sure I should. It might be best as the anchoring novella in a linked story collection. What it ISN'T is the first book I want to see published. For one thing, it's half a sequel to my much longer book, which still has no title I'm happy with.

I mean, what comes next for me is shopping THAT book. Which still has some issues I can't seem to resolve. What I hope is that there is an editor out there who will see that the book is basically sound, and have the ticket to help me fix the things that are clattering a little.

I've been calling the book Now England Sees, and I think it is a good book. I think it could be better, but I don't know how. It's frustrating as hell, at least in part, because Bullets is going to be so fucking easy to fix.

And I don't know if having placed in 3 Day is helpful or not in shopping it. I don't know how prestigious the contest is, and if shortlisting carries any prestige at all. I don't know if people will be all like "Well, can I see THAT book?" If they were, I don't know what to do.

Because I love my first book the way you love your kids. I think it's good, and all that, but mostly I love it because that was the one that clicked for me.

I have tried and tried and tried to write a novel since I was eighteen or so. Lack of discipline was part of the problem, but that wasn't all of it. I was having trouble managing the structure and pacing, and with my self-censor. Now that I finished the first book, the words have just NOT stopped coming. Writing Bullets was, though crazy, by comparison like a walk. That is also true with the book I'm doing right now.

Something in me has switched to on. Writing novels is something I can do now. Yay!

So, if nothing else, the first book gave me that. But I want people to read it.

So, what next? I don't know. I don't know the BUSINESS side of writing very well, and I need to bone up on that, clearly.

I'll be documenting all of that over on Fishclock as I go through it.

And now the second thing: This place.

TextFIGHT is a good thing. It's a place we can all hang out and shoot the shit about what we do. Contests can and should happen, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Feel free to start them, feel free to do just about any damned thing here. Post contests, all of that.

And let's try to grow the community. With this in mind, may I ask, is this site too hostile? I mean, I thought it came off as tongue in cheek, but maybe we're spooking people away. On the other hand, maybe that's keeping the prissy people out. I'm okay with elitism to that extent.

Hell, I don't know. I'm at a crossroad.

New job, new life chapter. I'm coming off this moment that feels like a victory, and, truthfully, I'm less sure what to do than ever.

So, I'm asking for guidance. Tips, hints, all the rest. I can't promise to take them, and I may even disagree. Please don't take this as me being ungrateful. The dialogue matters. We might even disagree and argue. Your attempts to persuade me will likely be good for everyone in any case.

This site and this little gang is one of the little things that I am genuinely grateful for. And I need your thoughts.

What next?