Showing posts with label works in progress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label works in progress. Show all posts

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Deciding What to Work on Next

I'm on the second round of edits for SELLING HOPE, and *should* have them back to my editor this week.  But then, what next?  I've been researching two stories simultaneously, one a middle-grade road trip tale, the other a nonfiction picture book.  I've concentrated more on the mg story to this point, because, well, it's what I know - I lurve middle grade historical fiction.  (This one is half contemporary/half historical.)  My heart is in this project, but I'm currently struggling with the plot. Sometimes that can be good - some of my best solutions have come only after wrestling with the plot.  And authors are constantly told that writing 3 or 4 books of a similar type (ie, middle grade historical) is smart in order brand oneself.    

But my head says that the picture book can be researched faster (yes, even though it's nonfiction) and I have a very good feeling about its marketability (in other words, I think publishers will really like the idea.)  And it's not that I'm totally emotionless about this book - far from it.  The idea of it, and how I picture it being executed, gives me that itchy writer's feeling of "Yes! That must be written!"  And, too, maybe it would be nice to change gears for awhile - you know, get the sparks flying from a different piece of flint.     

So - which one to work on next - the heart or the head? The sloppy, messy, heart-driven book, or the practical, marketable change-of-pace?  How do *you* decide what to work on next?  And by all means, voice your opinion on my next project in the comments section!  Please?  ;-)