The Sh*t Just Got Real.

Dio always knows the right thing to say. These are indeed words to live by...even though they're a little blurry.

Okay, so I finally got a book deal. Now that the ecstatic joy has gone down to a sane level, (okay, as sane as I can be) I need to begin focusing on what this means for me. The obvious being, no longer can I be considered by anyone (or myself on a bad day) a hobby writer.

Because, the sh*t is real now.

My editor said we have a lot of work to do: namely edits and working on my career path. As it says on their website: Sourcebooks publishes authors, not books.

Career...I haven't heard that word applied to me since I got my degree in automotive. A degree I can no longer use. However, I've been treating my writing as a career for the last two years. I've made self-imposed deadlines, gone through line edits with friends, built up a humble platform, and discovered the value of social networking (other than winning free books.)

But now it's a REAL career. The deadlines will be real, the edits will be through trained professionals who are not going to take it easy on me. My platform and social networking could impact my sales.

I know the work my editor referred to is going to be a lot more than revising BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. Speaking of, when I said that to my husband, he said, "But, I thought you edited it already." The house practically shook with my hysterical laughter.

Anyway, besides polishing that work, there's going to be a multitude of preparations before I make my debut. Namely, what project will be the next focus? No longer can I willy-nilly hop around sub-genres. Not right now, anyway. At first that sounds restrictive...until I remember the anxiety that came from: "What project should I work on next? I have one idea here, and another there!" Now, I will have guidance and help in shaping my personal brand. And that comes as such a relief.

What am I doing now, so early on my journey?

As you can see, I've deleted the progress bars for my other projects from my site until I figure out what I'm working on next. Also, I've finally figured out how to add pages to this blog. Aren't the tabs cute? Those pages are pretty bare for now, except for the one where I list my upcoming guest posts. Check it out. I got some good ones lined up already. The "books" tab is for now a source of happy daydreams of what's to come. As for the "About Me," I'm going to do my best to seem awesome. :)

Because my career is REAL now. Hey, do you think if I say that to the kids, they'll behave and let me work when they're around?

No? ::sigh:: That's what I thought.

Thanks to all who are here for me and been supportive of my journey so far. I'll pop back in and say "Hi" later. Now I gotta go to my Idaho Writer's League meeting, where Shelley Martin and I are interviewing everyone as their characters. To keep the Halloween spirit, we're also bringing some spooky goodies. I carved a pumpkin to "barf" up smoked salmon spread and made deviled eggs to look like eyeballs. Shelley's got pumpkin bread, lady fingers...and a chocolate fountain. It bears repeating: A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN.