by: Joelle Charbonneau

Being a writer is a funny thing.  You write a book.  The process of writing that book takes months or years.  Then there is the editing, which can take more months, copyedits, page proofs, etc…etc…etc…  Shepherding a book from the opening line to the moment where it hits shelves and magically ends up in readers’ hands can take years.  Release day is a joyous and nerve-wracking event.  I know I tend to gnaw off my fingernails hoping that the people who pick up the book will like it….or more to the point, hoping that people actually pick up the book!  A week goes by in that happy state.  Maybe two, if you’re lucky.  Then comes the question….

What’s next?

When’s the next book?

What are you writing now?

And while it can be a little startling at times for writers who just had a book hit shelves to hear people ask when the next one is going to make its way into bookstores (because, hey–no pressure or anything) – it is also wonderful.  Knowing that readers are engaged enough to want to mark their calendars so they don’t miss the next release is something to truly celebrate.

What’s next is on my mind a lot right now.  Technically, I know what’s next for readers.  Skating Under The Wire (Rebecca Robbins #4) will be published on Oct. 1st.  I even known what’s next for readers several books past that.  Independent Study (The Testing Trilogy #2) AND A Chorus Lineup (Glee Club #3) both will arrive in bookstores on January 7th, 2014 with Graduation Day (The Testing Trilogy #3) coming out on June 3, 2014.

Phew.  It makes me tired thinking about it.

And yet, not that tired, because even though I just turned in copyedits for Graduation Day yesterday, I can’t help thinking about “What’s next?” for me.  What new story will I tell?  You’d think I’d want a break after writing 5 books in just over a year and a half.  Heck, I thought I did.  But now that I’ve climbed the mountain that brought me here, I can’t help searching for a new one to climb.  And hopefully, readers will want to take that journey with me.

So, how about you?  Readers – when you finish a book you love, do you automatically wonder when the next book by that author will be published?  And for my fellow writers – do you reach the other side of the mountain, pitch a tent and relax or are you crazy like me and start gearing up immediately for the next climb?