The Next Chapter…
My second book is almost finished. It seems weird to say that, but it is true! It is at the stage where others are reading it before I make my final edits and complete the final draft. After that, it will be finalized, uploaded, and published for the world to see, like sending my baby out into the world.
With the finishing of one book comes another more daunting question: What do I write next? I have many story ideas written down, but do I want to do any of those? Is there something else more fascinating that I want to delve into instead?
Ending one thing and beginning another seems like a trend in my life lately. I recently started a new job with the same company, but in a completely different department. I have been in the same department for the last six years, so this has been a big change.
My oldest child has been attending university in a different city. Recently, he decided not to return home for the summer. This is good, and all a part of growing up, but there has been a shift in our household.
In September, the youngest will be off to the same university in a different city. This will be a bigger change as we will no longer have children at home, at least during the school year.
All of these monumental changes have had me reflecting on the next chapter. It is funny how we as humans describe our life events in terms of chapters in a book. Though many of us are not authors, we are still able to see the similarities between our lives and the books we read. In this metaphor, our lives are like a novel, filled with chapters, characters, heroes and villains. All of the pieces of our lives create a wonderful story that we can look back on. If we’re lucky, perhaps some of those characters in our story will also retell our story to others.
With all of that in mind, I come back to the first part of this blog: What do I write next? I am at a season of change in many parts of my life. Will I also make this next book part of that change? Will I write something completely different from what I have in the past?
I don’t actually know the answer to these questions… yet. But isn’t that the surprise and delight of this life? We are in our own ‘choose your own adventure’ story, where we get to choose our paths and move forward as we would like to, and our story will be composed of those choices and consequences. Whatever path we choose will create the next chapter filled with characters, heroes, events, etc.
This past year, my man and I got to go to Paris (see photo) together without children, a trip I have been dreaming about taking with him for a very long time. It was a dream come true, and I enjoyed every second. That dream has now been fulfilled. Now we get to dream a new dream and create a new chapter for our next trip. Another new chapter for us to embark on in the story of our relationship. Whatever we choose, it will be great because it will be with him, and that, in itself, is a big part of the story of Amanda: him.
This realization comes with a lesson I’ve learned along the way: whatever we choose to do, whatever I choose to write, it is the characters who journey with me that enrich and bring my own story to life. So, while I may not know what to write, I do know that I will be surrounded by those who love me while I do it. That will make all the difference.
So from my desk to yours, let’s make the next chapter amazing!
Always writing,
AJG
Googling Yourself
Once upon a time, there wasn’t a way to see if you were out there in the world, being remembered, searched for or watched. We all went through our day-to-day lives oblivious to anyone giving us any attention or paying us any sort of mind. It was a lovely feeling and we can long to go back to such days; to return to “the good old days”, as the saying goes.
I believe that view is limiting and, in some ways, very narrow.
Don’t get me wrong. There are many cons about the internet and social media as a whole: no privacy, compar-a-titis, once you post something, it is out there for the millennia, etc. Not to mention the terrible, dark side of the internet, which I will spare the details here.
While these things are all cons, I have a bit of a different view, as an indie author. Without the internet and social media, I would have a much harder time sharing my books with my readers and potential readers. Self-promotion would be a thousand times harder without social media posts, websites and even TikToks to share progress.
I know what you are thinking: why is this on your mind, Amanda? And why call this post “Googling Yourself”?
Well, I have a new novel coming out in the next few months. That means that this is the time to update my website, start really engaging my audience, and make more posts. It is a fine line, however, to post just enough to make sure they are thinking about me to remember I have a book coming out and not too much that they get sick of hearing from me.
As a result of this time that I am dubbing “The Great Social Push”, I decided to see where I stand when I Google my pen name, “Amanda J. Grant” or my first novel, “Along the Pipelines”. There were no major surprises, as my book is found in the regular places like Amazon and Indigo (just online, though — you won’t find a hard copy anywhere).
The most surprising thing was seeing how quickly my name comes up for links to my social media pages. Which is good and bad. Good in that I want my name to get out there. Bad in that I am a public entity, and my social media is public for the sole reason that I am an author.
After the updates to my website and working on my social media presence, I am thankful for this space called the Internet. I am thankful that I am able to share my books easily with those who may want to read them. But the Google search was also a stark reminder that the internet is forever, so anything you post, you will be remembered for, so post well.
With those sobering thoughts, I am off to finish updating my website. You can visit it at amandajgrant.com. Also, did you hear I am an author with a second novel coming out?
Always writing,
AJG