As an RPG player of long standing, as well as a video game-lover, the concept of “leveling up” is never far from my brain. When I finished my first year of teaching, I called it “leveling up.” There’s some truth to it; every year brings new skills, new ideas. And not just annually; leveling up can happen mid-year, too.
As a writer, I’ve always thought of a sale as the obvious first “ding” to signal a new level. Then I went to VP, which was a level-up, as I learned new skills and made some valuable contacts (mostly with fellow students, without whom I would still be trying to finish The Widening Gyre.
So, now that I’ve signed a contract, that’s a ding, right? Right. And now I’ve reached a new level of enlightenment about writing professionally, right?
Well, no, not so much.
I mean, yes, If I’m being honest, there’s some nifty “taking myself seriously” going on, where I’m no longer telling myself the book is terrible and nobody will ever like it. But at the same time, now I have all sorts of new problems to figure out.
When my sorcerer hits a new level, he gets some new spells, he learns some new things, and he’s generally more powerful. But he doesn’t usually end up with a series of new questions, at least not as part of his new level.
But now that I have a publisher, and an editor, and a contract that lays out certain things, I’m worried about new things. Like… at what point do I add things like a dedication and acknowledgements? When do I pitch book 2? Right after I plot it out and write up a synopsis? When it’s finished? Or do I wait and see how Book 1 does in the marketplace to see if there’s even a point to writing it?
My editor is saved from dealing with my neurotic BS by the fact that I know he’s super busy prepping for the Imprint’s big roll out of the new titles beginning in September. And I’m waiting for the edits on TWG before I do anything else. Get that one “in the can,” so to speak. But it’s still all spinning around and around in my head.
So. Level up, but be wary–just like in RPGs, the battles aren’t over yet.