This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
This week I have arrived at a writing crossroads and I am confused about which way to turn. I have finished a second edit of my latest work in progress, and with a few tweaks here and there it'll be ready for me to send out to some test readers. After that, my plan is to send it off to the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme and to receive their assessment of it. Which means I am looking at about three months where I won’t be working on that novel. Which leads me into a dilemma of What Next?
After finally getting my WIP finished and getting my ebook up on Amazon, I felt a bit tired of writing and thought I could do with a rest. I decided that I was going to take a three month break after I submitted my manuscript to the RNA. Take a summer off, after all I’ve been worried that I’m missing some of the best years of my life sat behind a laptop. After about a day, the break had been reduced to a month. And then an idea for a sequel to my ebook hit me and I decided to write that instead. After all, working on a different manuscript would be as good as taking a rest – right?
I was all set to jump on writing this sequel when a brand new super dooper novel idea popped into my head. It didn’t just pop into my head, it started spreading like a disease around my brain. It consumed me for days for nearly every waking hour. The characters started talking to me, scenes played out in front of me. I surely have to write this novel now?So what do I do? Do I write the new novel and try and get it finished to submit to the RNA? One that I think could be a really good book to submit to agents? Or do I go after the sequel which I know I’ll only put out as an ebook because it probably isn't high-concept enough for a debut author?
This is where I think an agent could really help. I’d like to think they’d tell me which direction to go in. Having too many book ideas is probably a better novel dilemma than having no ideas. But it scares me. I keep thinking I am going to make the wrong decision.
How does an aspiring author pick which way to go when they get to these types of crossroads? How do you pick?
(lightbulb image from qisur flickr stream)